


Spotlight: Shockwave

by CreatureCreator



Series: Megatronus Prime [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Shattered Glass
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Conspiracy, Corruption, Gen, Headcanon, Hot takes on Arcee's origins, No Sex, Not Beta Read, PTSD, Performative wokeness, Revolution, Sad clown music vibes only, Slavery, Unethical Experimentation, What-If, shockwave is confusion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:46:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23759335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreatureCreator/pseuds/CreatureCreator
Summary: The formation of the deceptions as told from the perspective of shockwaveFollow as Shockwave learns and unknowingly participates in the brutal plot that would lead Cybertron down the road to civil war.An introspective and intense character study into what it actually takes to make a change in a corrupt system.
Series: Megatronus Prime [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1259435
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel to my other story Transformers regenesis. There will be four chapters explaining how the deceptions formed in this au and how Megatron became a prime. Please tell me if any formatting is weird. Editting was done on my phone

The gladiatorial rings were often a favorite pastime for many a Cybertronian, for Senator Shockwave, the bloodshed often left him feeling morose. “This is quite barbaric isn't it? Watching mech's fight to the death?” 

“It's all in good fun Senator Shockwave, you just have to loosen up a bit,” Senator RatBat said in confidence. He was leaning casually in his seat, his ever silent drone and aide at his side, “Besides, what else are we to do with the lower class?”

“I suppose…” Shockwave trailed off, not daring to disagree with the Senior Councilmen so openly. He glanced at the rings again from their VIP booth, high above the ensuing carnage. “I have no idea why you insist on bringing your drone everywhere. He's so unsightly.” Shockwave commented. The match was just finishing, the dead mech’s head being paraded around. The image was plastered on the large televisions lining the ring, the rest of the poor saps body being hurriedly pushed off into the corpse ditches that lined the edge of the stage, uncaught by the camera’s lens.

“Soundwave? He has his purposes. It's always good to have another set of optics watching your back.” RatBat sat straighter in his seat, His optics lighting up. A large smile broke over his face as the next match was announced, “Finally! I was starting to get bored. Now we have some real entertainment!” RatBat declared.

Shockwave made a curious hum and actually tried to pay attention this time. The whole stadium seemed to be frothing at the intake for the next combatant. 

“He hasn't lost a single match, he's an incredible fighter.” RatBat said excitedly. 

“Isn't that true for all of them in death matches?” 

RatBat shook his head, “It's different for him. Watch and you’ll see what I mean.” 

Shockwave held his disbelief. 

The fighter didn't really seem like much. Sure, he looked to be a bit of a brute, but looks were often deceiving in the ring. His head was shaped like a bucket but his eyes held a deep intelligence. It was unclear what his altmode was, no true kibble giving it away. He walked with such purpose as they chanted his name, Megatron. Shockwave couldn't stop watching the way the mech moved. He commanded such a presence that it was, dare Shockwave say, exciting.

Megatron raised a fist in the air, the ring fell silent. RatBat was biting the end of his servos anxiously waiting, his whole body bouncing with excited energy. “Here it comes, here it comes!” He whispered quickly.

The Gladiator looked at the crowd, letting his gaze hit all the seats, even landing on the VIP booth for a brief moment. “My fellow Cybertronians, you have come to see me perform. To see me cut down another and end a life. Is this not murder? Is this not unjust?” Megatron left the questions unanswered, waiting a tense few seconds before continuing “Why must we fight and kill our fellow mech? I'll tell you why, because bots much more powerful than us have told us so. They say to be satisfied with your work, to not think about what you are doing. Why must we suffer for their enjoyment? Why must we toil for their gain? We are more than what they tell us we are. Tonight, I will murder another for your cheers. Tonight, I will kill for all of you. So please, cheer loudly so that those bots in power may hear you.” With a devonaire smile Megatron flounced back to his corner of the ring. 

“Oh my,” Shockwave gasped, a hand over his mouth, “That almost sounded like a protest speech.” 

“It's all part of his character. I've talked to his managers about it and they assure me it's so more common mech place their afts in seats to see him.” RatBat waved off the concern. “Something about him being more relatable to the working class. But you see what I mean?” RatBat said, quickly changing subjects, “He puts real performance into this, almost makes it high art.” 

Shockwave made an intrigued sound. He most certainly did, if that's what you chose to believe. Shockwave however, was no fool and was not about to be played like one. If Megatron survived the match, Shockwave would make it a point to hunt the mech down.

The other fighter made no grand speech after his entrance. How could you when Megatron took so much of the stage? No one cheered for the pathetic. He was a classic brute, smaller than most but built to take a beating. The yellow paint was cheap, chipped in places. A large swathe was missing off of their right leg, an obvious patch job. Their mouth was moving, only caught in the brief flashes the camera had to do. Shockwave couldn’t read their lips but it didn’t matter. If Ratbat was correct, they would be dead any minute now. For convenience Shockwave thought of them as Yellow.

They were allowed one weapon each. Yellow wielded an energy sword of some kind; Megatron declined to use any. 

Shockwave was curious, why would such a competent fighter put himself at such an obvious disadvantage. Shockwave moved to the edge of the seat craning to see better into the arena. 

The countdown was initiated and they were off. Yellow charged in blindly, clearly not having a very thorough plan of attack. He raised his energy sword high, telegraphing the blow. 

Megatron took a quick step out of the blades path, his face was still as water, casting a weary eye at his opponent. He waited for the next slash to come his way before he struck.  
Yellow made an aborted jab, there was no clear target, whether limb or vital organ when the move was made. The striking arm was brutally grabbed, Megatron’s hand wrapping completely around the appendage and starting to squeeze. On reflex Yellow dropped his energy sword, howling in pain. Blunt fingers dug at the hand with little success. 

Megatron dragged his opponent to the outside, effectively stopping any counter strikes. 

Blocked by his own body Yellow was helpless. He made frustrated little cries as he threw his weight around, tugging and leaning against the strong grip around his arm.

Shockwave noted that Yellow would most likely lose the arm if he didn't act quickly. 

Cornered with little other option, Yellow transformed. It wasn't graceful but it served its purpose. His head switched and the jaws of a wolf clamped down on Megatron’s hand. 

The thing wildly shook its head, ripping plating away with every vicious tug. Guttural growls left its now primitive vocaliser, it wobbled on its feet, testing to see if it had enough strength to throw the bulkier mech off balance. 

The low whine of a particle cannon tore Shockwave’s eyes away from the mauling. Shockwave gasped as he saw the long tube on Megatron's arm start to glow a bright purple. 

“He has a gun!” Shockwave exclaimed

“He is a gun.” RatBat finished.

In a surprising move, the beast abandoned trying to free its arm, instead, the wolf lunged forward, snapping at Megatron’s face.

The gladiator was surprised by the move, jerking backwards. His arm locked as the thing tried to push against him, snapping and growling the entire time. 

With one final whine, the shot was charged and all that was left of the ugly thing was a head and the arm Megatron was holding. The arm was tossed aside with little fanfare. 

Megatron's face remained still. It wasn't the face of indifference, but of a quiet hidden anger. Barely hidden by the impression of a stoic warrior. 

“Well that was a disappointing fight.” Shockwave said with a frown. RatBat had been hyping up the match for weeks. To see it end in such a whimpering, albeit a powerful whimper was not the show Shockwave was promised. 

“That was just the warm up round. The real show is just beginning. I have him fight at least ten mech's a night.” RatBat boustead, “ I once had him fight ten at the same time.” 

“That sounds like it ended terribly.” Shockwave remarked. 

“For the ten. Tonight is going to be special. I spent good credits on these guys to get them into my ring.” 

Shockwave made a low whistle. He didn't fully believe RatBat, he had a reputation for more than a little exaggeration. Shockwave was currently tuning out the long suffering story of how RatBat obtained such valuable and dangerous fighters. RatBat was cut off from his inflated tale with the rattling of the gates as they opened once again. 

“Oh, right on cue!” RatBat said. The bat snapped his fingers and Soundwave leaned in as he whispered in his audial. With a nod Soundwave was off, primly turning after giving a sharp nod to his master’s guest. 

Shockwave shivered, the drone was so uncanny. It was its optics; something about them felt alive. 

“Oh how rude of me, I forgot to ask, would you like refreshments?” The schmoozing was almost palpable as it dripped off RatBat’s words. 

Never one to turn down courtesy, Shockwave answered politely, “If it’s not a bother, a small cube would be appreciated.” 

‘I’ll have Soundwave fetch it as well.” RatBat’s attention slowly got drawn away from his political companion and back to the ring. The ever growing grin had relaxed into smug assurance as the battle was progressing. The new combatants were fighting in tandem. Each striking with such ruthlessness against the larger fighter. There was a clear desperation to their movements. 

Megatron took the hits well, blocking what he could as his armour absorbed the rest. They were beating against his broad shoulders with nothing but their bare servos. They were slippery, using their smaller size and speed to their advantage. They dodged around Megatron's attempts to grab one of them, striking the plating left exposed by the action. Where one was cornered, the other would strike, forcing Megatron to deal with the menace. 

After some observations Shockwave had concluded the two were twins, split spark being yet seen. But Shockwave had to admit, they would have been expensive to buy. It seemed the winged mech was pulling out only his best for Shockwave tonight. Not that would change his opinion of the repugnant mechanimal.

The twins were doing rather well against Megatron in Shockwave's opinion. There were a couple of times the red one had gotten close to doing some real damage before Megatron turned and dealt with him. 

It was looking more like a battle of attrition the longer the fight went on. The pair was tiring, red and yellow panting as the camera swooped around to capture their exhausted faces. Exhausted but still more than ready to keep fighting. 

Megatron was the same as he was at the start of the match plus a few more dents. His vents were even and he still had yet to even bare his dente in agitation. He stared down the twins with something that looked close to pity.

In a second, they reengaged, choosing to fight the massive mech together head on. They rushed him, angling their shoulders towards Megatron's mid section. Hoping to use their bodies as battering rams, they ran at Megatron. 

Megatron lifted his canon in what shockwave thought was a block. His assumption was soon corrected when Megatron clipped both their helms with a strong back hand. 

The twins charge was stopped and Megatron quickly grabbed the red one by the arm and flung him into his twin. 

They staggered a few steps, toppling over onto each other. Megatron came down swiftly, pinning them together with the business end of his canon.

The camera zoomed in closer to Megatron, trailing from his face to his terrified opponents. The whirr of the fusion canon started before the buzzer sounded. 

It startled Shockwave and he was embarrassed to note he was leaning slightly out of his seat. Shockwave collected himself and settled back; he pretended to miss the Sly smile from RatBat. “No finishing blow this match?” 

Soundwave had returned, as silently as ever. He moved quietly, kneeling beside RatBat raising the tray up for his master to more easily grab his glass.

RatBat took it, swirling the Engex around, “Bloodthirsty are we Senator Shockwave?”

“Well, it was just that I was more surprised. I was under the impression that the whole event would be death matches.” Shockwave quickly amended.

Soundwave stood and turned to Shockwave, offering him his smaller glass. Shockwave accepted it, taking care not to look in the drone's visor. 

RatBat chuckled, “I host a wide variety of fights here. It's bad for business if you keep killing your stock. This match was just a little reminder for those two about who was really in charge.” 

Shockwave nodded, taking a sip of Energon to mask his distaste. 

RatBat continued to gloat, “I only planned three executions tonight to make sure I didn't offend your tender sensitivities.”

“That's rather thoughtful of you Senator.” Shockwave said dully, opting to take careful sips of his Energon. “By the way Senator, I forgot to ask this earlier when the fight was starting, but how did you inform Soundwave that he needed to bring my drink as well?” 

The senator hesitated, fidgeting for a moment before his drone jumped in, “Master had installed communications relay: allows for commands to be given remotely.” 

Shockwave nodded his head in understanding, “That's rather convenient.” 

The next fight started, effectively ending Shockwave's inquiry. It seemed to be another filler match, just some hapless mech thrown to the gladiator. Shockwave only bothered to watch for a moment before turning back to RatBat, “Senator, I know tonight was to be ah, purely for entertainment, but I can’t help but talk a little bit of business.” 

Ratbat sighed heavily, “Always thinking of work Senator Shockwave, it’s a quality I both admire and hate in you, I must admit. But...” RatBat casted an idle glance to the action, “I suppose we could talk.”

“Right, well, it’s about the upcoming elections. I’ve come to understand that your popularity has recently taken a hit after your, well there’s no polite way to say this, scandal.” 

The mood immediately soured, RatBat's em field repelling off of Shockwave's. Shockwave pushed through and continued talking, “I believe I have the solution you've been looking for.” 

“If it's more of your socialism ideas I'm not interested, Senator Shockwave.” 

“But it certainly wouldn't hurt your campaign. Most of your voter base is the working class. If they felt like you were actually trying to make a change, it would raise your numbers dramatically. Mechs like to be cared about.” 

“Do you see all this?” RatBat said, pointing around his private booth, “I didn't get this from caring about others. I clawed and took everything I could until I could sit comfortably where I am today. I thank you for your concern, but I have handled much worse in the past.” RatBat flashed a cruel smile at Shockwave and turned back towards the ring. 

The filler matches were just ending; the headliner being teased on the large screens for the colosseum's audience. Ratbat took the opportunity to smoothly shift away from the topic of himself, “Now, Senator Shockwave, I didn’t just invite you here to enjoy the show. We’re here to witness a spectacle.”

“What do you mean?” 

“The mechs I had bought, specifically for you Shockwave, are… how best to put this, more advanced than any cybertronian. I won’t ruin the surprise, but keep a close eye on them.” RatBat said with a wink. 

Shockwave didn’t really care about RatBat’s acquisitions. But he gave them a cursory glance to humor his host. His face wrinkled in disgust, more beastformers. It baffled Shockwave why RatBat would choose such primitive fighters, there must have been better options. He had just shown off his beautiful, dare Shockwave say, matching murder twins. There must have been something in the senator's collection more impressive than those two.

Five mechanimal, all of different forms. Two cybercats, one with an impressive mane, a rhino, a bull and most curious of all, a rather large avian. 

The fighters moved in a pack, jostling and biting at each other as they fought for position. Megatron took a step back and examined his opponents. There were five of them prowling, keeping just far enough away from Megatron to stay out of grapple and beam range. Still, the gladiator kept his canon charged, focusing on the middle of their group. 

They circled him, eyes trained on every twitching movement. It was slow, methodical until it wasn't. With a screech one of the cybercats darted swiftly away from the group. The rest pounced from the front, hoping to blitz the brute.

Megatron was ready and moving faster than Shockwave thought possible, he turned and blasted the one turning his back to the many. Megatron caught the feline square in the chest. The blast melting its plating, but not killing it. The beast fell as the rest dug into the fighter's back. 

He went to a knee; their combined weight pushing against him, trying to force him to the ground. He grabbed the head of the mained cybercat and threw it in front of him. Megatron stomped a foot down on the creature, pinning it.

The awful thing struggled helplessly on the ground as its comrades tried to overwhelm Megatron. 

The rhino charged, hitting the back of Megatron's knee, knocking the gun off balance. The maned cybercat wriggled out from under Megatron's pede, taking off to his fallen brother's side, grabbing the fellow cat in his jaw and dragging him away from the action. 

The others quickly retreated, rushing past Megatron to the cybercats' sides. With a terrible grinding sound that was heard throughout the colosseum, even making it to their private booth, the mechanimals started transforming. 

Crawling and climbing on top of each other, their bodies steadily formed something that looked vaguely humanoid. With twists and grinds that forced their plates into unnatural junctions. It opened its deformed mouth and a hideous screech lept from its vocaliser. 

Shockwave gasped audibly, a hand covering his mouth. 

RatBat laughed darkly. Shockwave tore his eyes from the Goliath to stare at his contemporary. “Like the surprise?” RatBat asked almost innocently, “You can thank my science team. For you see, it was getting boring just having one champion, so I thought to myself, 'How should I best kill the mighty?’and I created this!” he gestured with flourish at the abomination. “The next step in our evolution!”

The thing was abhorrent, borderline mutilated and utterly fascinating to Shockwave. His processor started scrambling. To make a combiner, it was unheard of. Meshing processor, t-cog and spark, all different, into one being. The code must have been a tremendously complicated thing to craft. It made Shockwave's plates vibrate in excitement. “You will have to tell me the name of the creator. This being is utterly stunning.” 

RatBat smiled, taking a long drag of his Engex. “I'm afraid I'll have to keep the name a secret for now; just know we're working on creating more and this one is just a prototype. This will be it's first showing in the ring.” 

“I'm guessing Megatron's last as well if the combiner is worth its metal.”

“Precisely. Why, if I was Megatron I would be quaking in terror!” 

Megatron leveled his fusion cannon at the legs of the beast, aiming for the weakness he had created earlier. He let loose a powerful shot that completely melted the right leg of the combiner. It came toppling down, the components falling still as their systems locked up. 

Like so many great dramatic works of art; frozen right on the precipice of victory, the combiner was dismantled. RatBat didn't even see it go down, instead he had turned to look at Shockwave who was dutifully tracking the match. 

Shockwave tried poorly to hide his chuckles. “Nothing is perfect on the first run Senator.” The monitor zoomed in on Megatron as he went around the ring executing the stasis locked limbs. The gladiator was completely destroying any hope of salvage, going as far as tearing out components and subspacing them. “I’m sure the next test will go better.” 

RatBat growled, a trick only mechanimals could do, and pounded his fist into the arm of the chair. “I'm sure it will…” he said in a last attempt to mask his anger. 

“If the match is over Senator; I'm afraid you've made a fan out of me and I'd very much like to meet Megatron.” Shockwave said with a smile.

The gladiator wasn’t hard to track down. In the bowels of the arena, the fighter was strolling through the long corridors. Chatty microbots framed the large bot on either side, wildly gesticulating as they talked. “Way to go boss! You were super cool out there!” The blue one shouted. 

His presumed twin, a black and red version rolled his eyes at the comment, “He’s always cool! What was that freaky thing at the end anyways?” 

“Well yeah, but he was cooler today, the way he was all like, KACHOOM! and BAM! It was awesome!” The blue one shouted excitedly. 

“Rumble please remember those were living mechs I was fighting.” Megatron chastised.

Rumble’s excitement dipped as he looked down at his pedes in embarrassment, “Right, sorry boss bot.” 

Shockwave moved quickly, his lighter steps overpowered by Megatron’s heavy frame. The gladiator seemed to be unaware of his tail, moving with a casual slowness that most certainly was a courtesy to his odd choice of companion. There was a nervousness in Shockwave’s frame. Tension focused somewhere in his struts as he thought about how best to approach. Should he be direct? Simply ask about the opening speech? Maybe compliment the fighter first and then delicately bring the topic up. Or maybe, just hint at possibly wanting a proper discussion. Shockwave was a politician, a mech well versed in the game of words, to a gladiator, He would be a double edged blade. Opportunity and disaster were equal until intentions were revealed. 

“Excuse me,” Shockwave called out. 

Megatron looked behind him, his optics were tired and the more Shockwave looked the more he noticed how battered Megatron was. His arm still bore the marks of the earlier fight, energon lazily dribbling. His back plating scoured and torn away in places, scratches across his face and a large dent to the side of his helm. It was not with unawareness that Megatron moved but exhaustion. 

“My name is Shockwave, I’m a senator, I was wondering if I could perhaps have a moment of your time.” 

The microbots moved from Megatron's sides, storming right up to the senator. "Sorry pal, Megatron is a very busy mech, if you want to speak with him, you'll have to schedule it." The black and red one said. 

Shockwave blinked down at the rude microbot, “I’m sorry, who are you?” 

“The name’s Rumble and I’m his manager and don’t you forget it!” Rumble punctuated with a poke to Shockwave’s shin. 

His twin came up beside him, a wide smile across his face plates as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah! What he said!” 

Shockwave was in shock as he looked down at the pint sized nuscaunces. He was only saved by Megatron calling the two. They turned, grins falling as they returned back to the gladiator’s side. 

“Rumble , Frenzy behave.” Megatron said quietly, “Of course, Senator, how can I help you?” 

“Your speech at the beginning of the match, it was-” 

“Merely a ploy. I’m sure you’re aware of the character I play in the ring?”

“All the same, your words moved me. I was wondering, if perhaps we could meet, outside of the arena?” 

“I’m afraid that’s impossible, Senator. However, it is always humbling to hear that I have acquired another fan.” Megatron said with a smile. The grin never reached his optics and the weariness around him was surrounded by a sharper edge. “Now, I’m sorry to leave so abruptly but, I have to get to the infirmary.” 

"Right, of course. Well, perhaps after your treatment, I could visit?" Shockwave said hopefully. 

Frenzy, determined by elimination, rolled his optics. The small bot stomped his way over to the senator,he looked frustrated and a little more than done with the situation, "Oh Primus, some people just can't take a hint. Listen ya trunk chest, Boss. ain't. Interested. So you can take your fancy plating and fake interest and turn around and walk away." 

"Rumble!" Megatron called out.

“What?” Frenzy? Rumble? Said. 

“Behave yourself. You forget, he’s still a senator.” The gladiator addressed his manager's as if he was talking to a naughty sparkling.

It was a fascinating sight to see the once haughty bot crumple under Megatron’s gaze. “Senator Shockwave,” The Senator looked back to Megatron, “If you wish to go down this dangerous path against the very senate you work with then I suggest you look into where Senator Ratbat gets his fighters. I hope you have a pleasant day.”

“Perhaps, I will come by some other time?” Shockwave asked hopefully. 

“Perhaps.” With that Megatron disappeared down the hallway, the little bots yammering away at his sides, albeit quieter than before. 

Shockwave was left to wonder if Megatron thought he would show up again at all. It was with a mixed uncertainty that he left the bowels of the ring, daylight meeting his optics with harsh glares as he tried to readjust. Waiting for him was RatBat. 

The Senator was dressed in purple finements that draped over his shoulders and pooled in a river of purple around his feet. He had gotten changed, putting on his exotic fabrics as if that would somehow outshine Shockwave's pearlescents. The older Senator was behind the times in terms of trends. The garment, though beautiful, was dated and spoke of the days when senator's were priests not politicians. "Well. How was my champion?" Ratbat said with no flurrish. No movement to show off the silks he was wearing. Seemingly thinking that wearing them was enough to show his power over his junior.

"Quite charming. He was very polite and humbled." Shockwave stated. 

Ratbat huffed, "He often is. Did you enjoy yourself this evening?" It was not a question, more an accusation phrased as a question. It was a polite way of asking, 'Do you think me a clown?'

Shockwave was a senator, a young one just gaining ground and so Shockwave said, "I rather did. I was sceptical at first but Megatron made the whole experience for me." Which was the polite way of saying 'Yes I do.'

*  
It wasn't long before RatBat's embarrassment was well known to all. The other senators giggled and stared openly when RatBat was near, whispering behind servos at the joke he was becoming. You could almost hear the energon boiling in his lines. It was infinitely entertaining and satisfying for Shockwave to watch. Such a faux pas would pass in the week and business would once again be back on, albeit with RatBat at a disadvantage. 

It was the perfect time to try and follow up on what Megatron had said to him in the pits. 

He must be delicate, appealing to RatBat's wounded pride without coming off as condescending or weak willed. Simply presenting himself as a colleague intrigued. Avoiding suspicion and drawing upon Shockwave's well known scientific credentials, he would ask. Politely. 

"I must say Senator RatBat, your arena's are impressive, it must be quite a task to find all your fighters." Shockwave broached over midday energon. 

"Are you looking to start your own?" RatBat asked with suspicion. Soundwave was there holding a decanter at the ready, still as ever. 

"Oh no, simply wondering how you undergo such an enormous task." Shockwave amended, offering up his empty glass for Soundwave to refill. Shockwave felt something brush across his sensor net before briefly retracting. A light shiver went over Shockwave's frame and he passingly wondered what it was. Shockwave brushed it off as nothing. 

"Hmm." Ratbat said before taking an indulgent sip of energon, "Well, as you may know, Kaon has an… unfortunately high rate of crime. The prisons are simply too overcrowded to house all the inmates so, as a service, I let them publically entertain the masses. It solves the prison overcrowding issue quite splendidly, wouldn't you say?" RatBat gave a sharp grin, daring Shockwave to disagree with him. To point out the obvious. 

Shockwave bit his tongue, as he often did around RatBat. Implying the senator was part of the problem would get him nowhere. Shockwave had to be compassionate to his fellow bot. It was a pity the stupid beast couldn't see the full picture, beastformers often lacked the intelligence required, Ratbat just couldn't help it. It is why, in Shockwave's opinion, that they should only let real mechs be in the Senate. 

"It certainly is one way. Though that combiner you showed me…" 

"That project was a failure." RatBat dismissed.

"I saw some potential in it. You forget that I was a scientist before I became a politician, RatBat." Shockwave corrected, "Perhaps I could assist your colleague in some capacity?" Shockwave posed in such a way that you could almost describe it as sweet and naive. He kept his optics big and his smile small and secretive as he tilted his helm slightly to the side. He let his EM field slide across RatBat as nothing but open friendship. 

RatBat read his Em field carefully and relented. It took an enormous effort for Shockwave to clamp down on his glee and to continue to project the emotion he desired. "I don't see the harm in it, but, what do you want in exchange?" 

"Just my name on the journal would suffice, and your vote for my upcoming bill." 

RatBat sneered, "Another of your socialist ideas I presume." 

"I'm not asking you to sing its praises, just cast your vote. It's a very fair trade Senator. I'm helping you create a weapon, you are helping me pass a bill. It's really a small price when you think about the long term." Shockwave reasoned. 

"There's no guarantee your bill would be passed anyways. It really is a gamble for you." RatBat added, "Very well. I will send you the address. I'm sure bludgeon will appreciate the help." RatBat said with a wicked smile, stretching his servo out to seal the deal. 

Shockwave took the offered appendage and wondered for the first time if he had made a smart choice.

*  
The lab was well kept. It was spacious with the most current equipment in perfect condition. It would be any scientist's dream to work in such a well stocked and well funded space. At one point this would have been Shockwave's dream if he hadn't found his calling in politics. It gave Shockwave a pange of nostalgia as he looked around for his old college Bludgeon. 

Shockwave passed by the various stations, quickly glancing over notes. His optics caught on a couple words. He frowned in confusion over what he was seeing. Shockwave reached forward the folder, pulling it closer for a better read when he was interrupted. 

"Shockwave is that you? You old turbo fox! I never thought I'd see you back here!" Bludgeon exuberantly called. The scientist was exiting out of a storage closet, protective robes still around his frame. The skull faced mech quickly discarded his smock onto a table and clasped Shockwave tightly. "It must be my lucky day." 

"Yes quite Bludgeon," Shockwave said, politely extracting himself from the embrace, "Although I'm afraid this isn't a social visit; as much as I have missed you and Jihaxis." 

"Who says it can't be?" Argued Bludgeon, "I was just about to head out for energon, you should join me." Bludgeon steered Shockwave out the lab and away from the curious files still left on the table. 

Shockwave relented, allowing himself to be taken away. The whole day was ahead of them, Shockwave was sure they'd get back to work eventually. 

*  
The bar was dingier than Shockwave had expected it to be. Having gotten used to expensive energon with a high filter count. The chipped counters and fading paint threw Shockwave for a loop. Bludgeon was sitting happily, sipping his fuel through a straw. Shockwave swore he heard the impurities as they hit the sides of the straw. "I didn't know you had such tastes" Shockwave said blandly. 

"You get so used to the filtered stuff you forget what real grime tastes like; Adds a nice bit of extra flavour." Bludgeon said, stirring his drink, "Can't believe you're sucking up to RatBat." 

"Not sucking up to, merely dealing with. Trust me, if I had better options I would take them. That mechanimal is insufferable on a good day." Shockwave took a tentative sip from his own glass, letting the energon barely touch his glossa. It was sour and it left a burning film that Shockwave couldn't seem to lick away. It was going to burn holes in his tank, Shockwave was sure of it. 

Bludgeon laughed, clapping Shockwave across the back. "I understand completely. If he wasn't paying me; I would have tried to make him my next experiment." 

"Yes, how can something with so little intelligence run a state?" 

"I'm sure he gets his drone to do it." Bludgeon joked. 

"His drone is quite unsettling isn't it?" Shockwave broached, idly thinking of ways to get rid of his drink, "It's almost uncanny sometimes with the way it acts." 

"Well you know the rumor. Those things are actually repurposed corpses." Bludgeon leaned in conspiratorially, "Truthfully, I believe it." 

"You do?" Shockwave was intrigued, leaning in as well. 

"Sure. I've made a couple customs and they've always provided the frame." Bludgeon says off-handedly, "It's curious isn't it?" 

"Quite." Shockwave said nervously. 

"But it's all rumor." Bludgeon deflected, "We make mechs all the time. It's probably just from the factories." With one last sip Bludgeon emptied his cube and started to leave. 

Shockwave looked between his own cube and his partner and quickly shoved it at some random mech, hotly following his compatriot. Shockwave was feeling rather uncomfortable. His flashy plating was making him stand out from the riff Raff. Neon purple wasn't a very conspicuous colour. He fluffed his plating and stuck close to Bludgeon, trying his best to project confidence in his posture. "But in all seriousness, the project you're working on for Senator RatBat, has me quite interested." 

"So the truth comes out. You've finally come to your senses to leave politics behind." 

"That's not the case Bludgeon-" 

"-Well whatever the case, it's just good to have you back."  
*  
The work was slow going, Bludgeon handing over his notes with little hesitation. They were meticulous with footnotes that had their own footnotes. It seemed that the mech had gone over every possible avenue in his quest of perfecting the combiner. There was something Bludgeon was missing that Shockwave was sure he would find. 

It took days to even finish reading the research and another two watching the videos of the experiments Bludgeon conducted. The material was intriguing and gave Shockwave more than a few ideas of where they could go next. A lot of the observations Bludgeon made reminded him of split sparks. How the frames were influenced by how fast or slow a spark resonated within the chamber. Shockwave wondered if the frequency affected more than just the frame but the processor as well. 

Bludgeon was struggling to get the Trinity of the mechs to cooperate together. He would get the frames to join but coherency and intelligence never manifested. Instead the tangle of frames meandered, looking for what appeared to be fuel and reacting with violence to stimuli. After watching several of the failures and then the most recent combiner fall to Megatron Shockwave had his new solution. 

"We need to experiment with siblings." Was the first thing out of Shockwave's mouth as he came storming into Bludgeon's lab. 

"Siblings?" Bludgeon questioned. 

"Yes. Preferably ones with similar frame types. I have a theory and if I'm correct, after these tests we should be able to make a fully fledged combiner." Shockwave said with a rush. The mech quickly laid out his own notes and observations, pointing to spark and brain readings of the most recent combiner. "I think you were on the right track with the last one but it wasn't perfect." 

"No," Bludgeon agreed, "It was unstable and could only hold form for a couple of minutes." 

"It was as if it was rejecting a replacement part." Shockwave said, "Which is why I think we should look at siblings. They would already have a similar spark signature so the chance of rejection would decrease. If we got split Sparks they would already have a bond as well. It would just be a matter of tweaking their frames and coding." 

Bludgeon let out a deep exvent, "As nice as that thought is, tweaking coding on twins will make a five man combiner not." 

"But that's where you're wrong. That was always the issue with you Bludgeon. You went from a to c. What I'm suggesting with earlier trials will create a base code we can modify." Shockwave's excitement was almost palpable. 

When Bludgeon realised the enormity of what Shockwave was suggesting his field went wild. "With something like that we could literally make anyone a combiner." 

"Within limitation." 

"Of course!" Bludgeon amended. The other mech making his way over to Shockwave's sides. His own servos grabbing at the notes with an excited haste, "I'll get RatBat to send us new subjects immediately. Shockwave, you're a genius." 

"Don't praise me yet. We still have a lot of work ahead of us." 

*  
Shockwave was so engrossed in his new work he completely forgot about Megatron. It was only after an invitation to the rings, once again given by RatBat did Shockwave remember his original reason for working with Bludgeon. It was with shame he sought out Megatron after his matches. 

The gladiator seemed little surprised when Shockwave approached him again. It was with a bored finality that Megatron looked at Shockwave. As if Megatron had somehow gone one stage past disappointed into a strange upset acceptance. His manager's were missing from his side, gone somewhere Shockwave could not spare time to wonder about. Instead what replaced them was a wild em field full of rage. "Senator." Megatron said curtly. 

"Megatron." 

"I hear you are working with Bludgeon. I would say 'I'm shocked' but you politicians are all alike aren't you?" Megatron accused. There was no hurt in his voice. His frame was looking more worn these days. His plating had lost its last bit of shine and now was as matte as the concrete walls around them. 

"It's simply a step I need to take to make things better." 

"What a quaint excuse. Do you mind if I speak frankly Senator?" Megatron asked. Shockwave didn't have an opportunity to reply; Megatron bulldozing over any squeak that could have come out of his vocalizer, "You're a hypocrite." The gladiator paused, waiting for a reaction. Shockwave flinching under Megatron's cold gaze, the gladiator continued, "You cannot claim you are trying to improve a system when you clearly benefit from its corruption. You, Senator, seem to be willfully ignorant of this fact. Look deeper into your partner's work and you'll see exactly what I am talking about." 

Shockwave felt his face plates heat up. He couldn't believe the gall Megatron had. Megatron had done nothing and yet he criticized Shockwave? Except that wasn't exactly true either. Megatron had done all he could in the position he was in. From the pits the gladiator was trying to yell to the towers. He needed mechs like Shockwave to make real change. Megatron had every right to call Shockwave into account. 

The gladiator sighed as he looked at Shockwave's crumpling form, "Senator. I will not be able to be a fighter much longer." 

"Why not?" 

"I am growing old," Megatron stated, "And my matches are not pulling in the money they used to. They are losing too much money with the betting. RatBat has cut my rations as a result and everyday I grow weaker. It won't be long until I die in the ring." Megatron said with overwhelming certainty. The air grew tense as realisation of what Megatron wanted was started to dawn on Shockwave. It was preposterous, there was no way Shockwave would do that. 

"Why are you telling me this?" 

"Because you want someone else to speak for you." 

It was as if he had been seen through. All the games Shockwave had been playing, falling apart in a second. It was the truth. It was the fatal flaw in all his plans; something that Shockwave had been denying. Megatron was no fool. Shockwave had been trying to set him up and Megatron knew from the start. It was why he gave him that task. It was why he refused to speak to him. Megatron was waiting for his true colours and Shockwave revealed them unwittingly. "Maybe you could stop fighting for a couple of days." Shockwave felt stupid the minute the words left his mouth. 

"You say that as if I have rights." 

"It'll look bad if I bought you." Shockwave tried to argue. The defense sounded weak even to himself. Was he really so shallow as to put his own reputation above a life? 

"Then this will be our last conversation. Goodbye Senator." Megatron was turning away and Shockwave was losing one of the few who saw his point of view. 

He could stop this, all he'd have to do is call out. But, he was a hypocrite and possibly a bit of a narcissist obsessed with reputation. Shockwave just watched and felt miserable for himself. 

The next morning Shockwave awoke in his home overcharged and achy. He could not remember the night before but the senator was left with a hollow feeling that he was regretting something. He went about his day soullessly. Casually greeting others as he passed and half heartedly conversing with others when he needed to. It was no different to how Shockwave lived before talking to Megatron. 

'What am I even doing?' Shockwave thought to himself when he returned to his habsuit that recharge cycle. Laying awake on the recharge slab Shockwave starred up at the ceiling. He had it painted once when someone made a comment about how dingy its previous colour was. Shockwave commissioned Primus creating the matrix. Shockwave wasn't even religious, he had done it to impress Sentinel Prime. Sentinel Prime has never been in his house but Shockwave talked often about the mural. He seemed to like it when he heard about it. Thinking back on it the Prime was just being polite. 

With a sigh Shockwave got off his recharge slab, refueled and headed to Bludgeon and his shared lab. It was clear he would not be sleeping tonight. A restlessness had gripped him. 

The lab had a solitary light on when Shockwave arrived. His first thought was that there was a robbery happening. Shockwave cautiously pushed the door open. Just enough to see into the room. Shockwave looked with a slight tremor in his frame and was shocked to see Bludgeon. Late hours were not uncommon for scientists, but in the dead of night, far past just overtime was cause for suspicion. 

Bludgeon's skeletal faceplate casted dangerous shadows around the room as he busied himself at a workbench. The normally talkative mech was unnaturally silent. The movement of tools seemed unbelievable loud to Shockwave abmist the silence. 

Slowly Shockwave opened the door wider. The door swung and from Shockwave's small view the whole room was revealed. Across from Bludgeon there was someone else.  
They were laying on the table; and upon further inspection it became clear to Shockwave that the mystery person was missing pieces. Many pieces. So many enfact that they would barely qualify as just a torso with a helm. 

Shockwave recoiled in horror when he heard the mound of metal whimper. The sound was barely audible, more wheezing then actual noise, but it was there. Bludgeon paid no mind to it, continuing his busy work as the mech struggled to stay alive. 

"Bludgeon, what is this?" 

Bludgeon startled, quickly trying to shove his notes off of the work bench and out of Shockwave's sight. "What are you doing here?" 

"I was wondering the same thing. Bludgeon, what is this? What are you doing?" Shockwave took a step towards the mech on the table and was blocked by Bludgeon. Shockwave looked at Bludgeon and froze. There was cold murder in his optics when he gazed at Shockwave. Bludgeon's whole frame was tense, a servo twitching, as if resisting the urge to reach out and grab Shockwave. 

After a few tense seconds Bludgeon decided to answer. "It's my personal research." 

"For what?" 

"Frame modification and evolutionary progression of our species" Bludgeon clipped, "The Senate is often very supportive of my findings, it's led to a great deal of changes. For example, the latest cold constructs have fewer glitches than ever. They're almost like real mechs after my research." 

Shockwave peered around Bludgeon to look again at his research victim. Now that he was closer, Shockwave could see that the processor case had been removed and hundreds of electrodes and wires were pouring out of the mech. The limbs had been removed surgically, something Bludgeon would have butchered, and the chest plate had been replaced with a plexiglass for easy viewing of the mechs working internals. 

Horror dawned on Shockwave's features. "RatBat knows about this?" Shockwave was hoping he didn't already know the answers.

"He provides the mechs for me." 

Reality was setting in and Shockwave was kicking himself for not seeing it earlier. The combiner should have been the first clue. "What did Jihaxis say about this?" Shockwave asked, grasping at straws. 

"He encouraged me whole-heartedly. It was a great opportunity to further my own research." 

Every word Bludgeon spoke was a blow to the spark. Shockwave felt as if he would collapse in on himself. He put his name next to Bludgeon's on so many projects. How many mechs did Bludgeon secretly dismantle and rearrange in the night? How many times was it right underneath Shockwave's nose? 

Megatron was right about him. 

What had Shockwave done? He needed to end this. 

Movement caught Shockwave's optic as he tracked Bludgeon stealthily conceal a scalpel. Shockwave looked up at Bludgeon's face. There was a hard glint in his optics and an unsettling quiet in his field. 

"You really are a great scientist Shockwave," Bludgeon started, "It's just that I know you'll go and tattle on me. My work can't end here unfortunately." 

"So you plan on murdering me." 

"It's not personal." It was saccharine the way the words left Bludgeon's vocalizer. The mech even had the audacity to twiddle his murder weapon. He was looming over Shockwave, his eyes tracing the lines in Shockwave's neck. In one swift movement, Bludgeon lifted his servo. 

A very small thought ran through Shockwave's mind. Almost quiet against the static that was over taking him. 'I need to duck' Shockwave thought. His body did so, dodging the knife and then pushing past Bludgeon, not to the exit but deeper into the lab. In Shockwave's panic, the senator had run to the first door he saw. Shockwave was not blessed with extraordinary luck, there was no secret exit behind the door, instead he found a storage room with cages. Cages filled with Mecha. Or at least the mechs that had limbs still attached. The rest were stored on shelves, like living nicknacks Bludgeon could pull down and examine at any time.

Shockwave crawled between two cages at the back of the closet. He looked around frantically, accidentally making eye contact with one of Bludgeon's victims. 

Their body was strange. With an oddly pinched waist and protruding chest plate. Their arms and legs were thin with barely any external armour over their protoform. But the strangest thing about them was their faceplates.

They were delicate. 

Not even the most beautiful seekers had such rounded and delicate features. There was a dangerous beauty that lurked in their optics. 

"Let me out," They spoke in an indistinguishable accent, "I'll help you escape." 

It took Shockwave a moment to completely comprehend what they were saying, "What will you do?" 

The door to the storage room opened and the lights were turned on as Bludgeon made his way towards Shockwave. 

"Does it matter? You don't have many options. Let me out." They said again, rattling the various chains and binds around their strange body.

Shockwave took a desperate look towards the front of the room. Bludgeon had upgraded his weapon of choice to a broken beaker. Every step he was getting distressingly closer. 

Shockwave took a deep breath and unlatched the cage. The next part was the worst. He had to reach inside the cage to get the straps off of them. The senator gulped and reached in quickly, grabbing the nearest one yanking it undone.

The creature's hand came loose and quickly took to tearing away the rest. There was a malicious glee that came with the action that frightened Shockwave. When they were finally free, they crawled close to Shockwave. 

The Senator tried to lean away, trapped against the other cage. They smiled a little too wide and moved out from his hiding spot. 

It was shocking to see how small they were. Compared to Bludgeon they were tiny. But the colour they were donned with, a vivid pink, the same colour as energon stuck out sharply. It made Shockwave's optics swim. 

There was recognition in Bludgeon's optics when he looked at them. Recognition and fear. "Oh frag." Bludgeon whispered, "He let you out." 

They moved faster than expected. Taking Bludgeon head on. They smoothly dodged underneath the first jab, moving in closer and using the heel of their palm hit Bludgeon's exposed throat. 

The mech collapsed, servos going to his  
Injury leaving his midsection open. Three precise punches landed in between Bludgeon's armour plates left him stunned. With a final kick, the pink mech, though mech wasn't quite the right word to use, laid Bludgeon out. 

The scientist laid on the floor moaning in pain. The pink mech grabbed the broken flask. There was a moment of contemplation before they started stabbing. 

The storage room was drenched in Bludgeon's mech blood when they stopped. Shockwave's old friend looked like a grater with all the holes littering his body. With a loud exvent, the pink mech stood up and turned their attention to Shockwave. 

Shockwave trembled as that terrible gaze landed on him. It took him longer than he would admit to find his voice, "Who are you?" Shockwave quietly asked. 

"My name is Arcee," said the attacker, "I am from Caminus and I am a warrior."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So it turns out with Corona I ended up working more because I was an essential worker. This chapter also went off the rails. I may have to figure out a new flow for the story.

Shockwave was in shock. Before him stood a strange being that resembled a cybertronian, and laying dead, his once fond friend. Shockwave felt as if he had gone crazy. He never actually got out of his recharge slab and this was some guilt fueled nightmare. Except cybertronians didn't dream and Shockwave had no memories like this. It was all horrifyingly real. 

Shockwave felt his awareness fading in and out. The not quite mech, Arcee they had called themselves, was staring at the corpse of Bludgeon as if it would get up and move once more. Arcee's ex-vents filled the noise as the caged mecha shuffled about. More started whispering to be let out. Many started to wail and cry in relief. 

It broke Shockwave's reverie. He crawled his way out from the cages and came up to Arcee. "Are you alright?" He asked gently. 

Arcee startled, making an aborted punch towards Shockwave. Arcee stared at him as if they were just now realizing they were there. They blinked a couple of times, touching their wrists and looking around the room. Their optics were wide with amazement, "Yes," Arcee said in a soft whisper, "As much as I can be." 

"I've never seen anyone like you." Shockwave said. 

"I'm a Camian." 

"You mentioned that earlier. What is that?" Shockwave asked. 

Arcee froze, their eyes glazed over. After a couple moments, Arcee's faceplates scrunched up in frustration as they shook their head. "I don't know. I just know I'm from Caminus and I'm a Camian." They finally said. 

Shockwave nodded and risked a glance at Bludgeon. He held back the urge to reflux and looked again at Arcee. "We need to call the police, get this all sorted out. These mechs… Primus knows what Bludgeon has done to them."

Arcee nodded slowly and started walking out of the storage closet. 

Shockwave followed, still feeling off kilter from the whole experience. He followed Arcee to a workbench where they sat down on a stool. The action almost seemed foreign to them. Too used to being in a small cage to completely remember life outside of it. Shockwave observed them for a moment too long. The scientist in him brimming with curiosity. 

Shockwave looked away and dialed the police. It took a few minutes for the first officer to arrive but in that time Arcee had passed out at the workbench. Resting on their arms they slept fitfully and Shockwave was left to watch over them. 

The officer was a younger mech. A semi truck painted in reds and blues with a kind faceplate that had no duplicate. Looking at the officer, Shockwave felt relieved. He introduced himself as Orion Pax, a captain in the police force. Beside him was his partner Prowl, an investigator.

Prowl looked as if he had never enjoyed anything in his life. The Praxian had a deep scowl that spoke of his lack of finding anything funny in 'funny business'. It was clear the investigator was here to truly do his job, nothing more. Prowl didn't judge, it was not his place to judge, he evaluated. He examined and presented evidence. Photos were taken of everything. The mech on the table, the storage closet and of Arcee. Prowl forced them awake and against the wall. Taking photos of their body from every angle before allowing Arcee to sleep again. Bludgeon's notes and Shockwave's statement were taken and he was told he could go home. 

"What about them?" 

Orion looked at Arcee and sadly back at Shockwave, "There's no information on them. The best we can offer is a cell for them to sleep in until we figure out if they have any next of kin."

That felt wrong, they just escaped a cage. Shockwave thought on the issue, "They can stay with me." 

"Are you sure?" 

Shockwave nodded his head, "I'm sure. At least until their kin is found." 

Orion smiled kindly and quickly wrote something down on his data pad, "That's very generous of you." 

"It's the least I could do." Shockwave said truthfully. He had enough credits he could just buy Arcee an apartment to stay in for the rest of their days. That was simply too impersonal to Shockwave. They shared something now. With one final goodbye, Shockwave went home, a strange pink being at his side. 

Shockwave opened the door and was struck with how many useless things he had. It was overly ostentatious, things for the sake of things; filling a front foyer that was the same size as a cheap apartment.

Shockwave coughed into his servo, "I know it's a lot but…" He looked at Arcee. 

They were gaping at everything. Eyes and mouth wide as they took in the room, "It's big." They finally said, "It's all very…" they paused searching for the word, "Open." 

"Would you like a tour?" Shockwave broached. 

Arcee startled, tearing their eyes away from a glittering metal structure Shockwave had bought on a whim. They nodded their assent and quietly followed behind Shockwave. 

The more Shockwave showed Arcee around the more he realised how many rooms he didn't use. He had five berthrooms (only one in use, soon to be two) four bathrooms (a couple of them equipped with oil baths, not that he ever used them) and two studies, not to mention the countless large spaces he used to entertain (entertain in its loosest definition). The only modestly sized thing was his depensory. Shockwave didn't cook so he saw no need for more than the basics. 

Arcee was amazed and boggled by it all. Once getting frightened by the entertainment system when Shockwave turned it on to show Arcee how it worked. They settled on a room furthest away from Shockwave. The room had its own private bathroom, one with an oil tub. It was largely empty. Shockwave had actually forgotten the room existed until the tour. Arcee looked happy with it, despite the lack of decoration, or maybe because of. 

By the time Arcee was settled, the recharge cycle had ended and it was time once again for Shockwave to enter into the council chambers. 

Shockwave's first stop was to his old nemesis. "I want to buy Megatron from you."

Ratbat didn't even blink at Shockwave's words. The old Senator finished his energon and waved for his drone to retrieve more. Ratbat looked at Shockwave with a bored expression on his face as he picked at his servos. "He's not for sale." Ratbat said casually. 

"Why not?" 

"I technically don't own him. He's working in the arena for bond. You would have to pay his bond and then he'd be a free mech." Ratbat smiled cruelly, "Ergo, he is not for sale." 

"How much is his bond?" Shockwave asked, a little frustrated. 

"2 million credits." 

"That much? What did he do?" 

"He wrote a very interesting book that the Prime loved so much he threw him in prison to rust forever." Ratbat said Gleefully. 

"I'll pay it." 

"By all means do," RatBat reclined casually in his seat, fingers steepling together under his chin, "It would almost be a favor if you did." 

With one last sharp smile shared between them Shockwave left and called his bank. 

Credits in Servo, Shockwave felt ridiculous waiting in line like everyone else. He had called earlier to inquire about a digital transfer but their system was down, just his luck. Shockwave had to come in person. If he'd known about this earlier he would have made it a press event. Though, the headline wouldn't quite be savory. Shockwave could see it now, 'Senator pays bond of Anti-Prime writer'. That would be a disastrous article to his career. Great for martyrdom Shockwave supposed. His musings ended when he was called up to the counter. 

He looked at the clerk and was surprised to see Orion working the desk. Shockwave voiced his surprise as such, "Oh hello." 

Orion looked up and gave a small jolt, clearly not expecting him, "Senator Shockwave!" He said as if greeting an old friend. 

Shockwave blushed and waved a hand, "Please, just Shockwave. I'm not at work right now." 

"Sorry," Orion quickly amended, "How is Arcee?" 

"They're adjusting. They were asleep when I left this morning." 

"That's good, that's good. Listen, do you mind if I give you my personal number?" Orion asked abruptly, "Encase Arcee ever remembers anything." 

"Ah, sure." Shockwave answered awkwardly. 

Orion smiled at him and quickly sent his comm frequency to Shockwave, "Wonderful. Now how can I help you today?" 

"I came down here to pay a bond." 

"For who?" 

"A mech named Megatron." 

Orion froze. Recognition came across his face at the name. "Megatron huh?" 

"Do you know him?" Shockwave's curiosity was piqued. He leaned closer to Orion. 

"I arrested him once for fighting. He was… interesting to talk to." A few moments passed in silence as Orion processed the transaction. He gave a tight smile before turning the screen to Shockwave to show him that the money went through. "Alright. Thanks for stopping by and remember to give me a call." 

"I will," Shockwave lied, "I just had one question about the um, incident. Do you plan to release anything to the media?" 

"Don't worry Senator. Your name was scrubbed from the reports. As far as the media is concerned, a random citizen discovered this and you were no way associated with Bludgeon." Orion reassured. 

Shockwave nodded his head, "Good, I'll be on my way then. Have a good day officer." The words were said on reflex and listlessly Shockwave made his way to the arena. 

Upon arrival, Megatron was not there. Shockwave was told the mech had left just ten minutes prior and if he ran he might be able to catch up. When asked where Megatron went, Shockwave was given the vague answer of 'he said he was getting a drink'. Shockwave thanked the mech despite his unhelpfulness and he began his search. 

Shockwave ended up at a familiar oilbar after choosing a direction and walking for 10 minutes. It was with a vague recollection of the name that made him even take a step inside. 

The storefront was faded, complete with a blown out neon sign. It changed the name to 'Mac's O House', possibly a better name than the original, Maccadam's Oil House.

Shockwave pushed the door open and looked around. He found Megatron alone in a corner, sipping at his energon slowly. The former gladiator was staring deeply into his cup, a sadness washing over his face. 

His two managers were sitting next to him, comforting him. They patted his backplates with their little servos and chatted in soft tones about things Shockwave had no care to pay attention to. Like a force of nature Shockwave announced himself with a bang. 

The slam of his hand did nothing to startle Megatron. It was with lazy annoyance that Megatron looked at Shockwave. "Are you expecting a thank you card?" 

"No, enfact the opposite. I owe you an apology. You were right. You were right about everything and I'm sorry I was ever so blind." Shockwave sputtered.

Megatron swirled his drink with a finger before taking a slow pull. The energon was chunky, clearly refinery dregs. Megatron must have asked for it, knowing they'd give it to him for free. "Ratbat used to feed us solid energon. It was cheap and a mech could still eat it, but it burnt holes in your tank and glossa. Energon in its raw form is very caustic so we had to let it sit under our bunks to melt down. We had to let it spoil to safely eat it. I don't think you've ever tasted spoiled energon, but the flavor sticks with you. This is my first time tasting fresh energon in years and it is nothing but the scrapings off of a machine. I have no money, no platform for my speeches and two mouths to feed. I'd be lucky to get a serving job. But please Senator, give me your apology before you return to your manor and feel good about what you did." 

Shockwave stood in stunned silence. Why was every word out of his mouth so cutting? Shockwave was only trying to help, he had done what Megatron wanted, or at least what Shockwave thought he wanted. "He wouldn't sell you to me." He said quietly. 

"No, he probably said he couldn't. You could have sponsored me, paying off my bond in increments and buying stock in my betting wheel. He was probably delighted when you agreed to pay bond." 

"He was." Shockwave admitted. 

Megatron gave a small chuckle and swallowed another mouthful of gunk. He went to take another swig when Shockwave grabbed him.

"Stop. Let me buy you some real energon, for them too." Shockwave waved over the bartender, quietly paying for their highest grade. Four glasses appeared. The twins drank eagerly; Megatron stated at Shockwave.

"I'm not going to say thank you." 

"I don't expect you to. Bludgeon is dead, I thought I'd let you know." Shockwave drained his glass in one go. It was his turn to ignore the open look of surprise. "He tried to kill me after I found out what he was doing for RatBat. I'm tired of being ignorant, I need you." 

*

It was a short ride back to Shockwave's dwelling. Megatron had left the twins at the oil bar, passing them off to a mech called Impactor for the time being. Upon entering, Shockwave was surprised to see Arcee posted up in a chair facing the door, fast asleep. Shockwave approached them quietly, reaching out to gently shake Arcee awake. His fingers barely made contact when their hand grabbed his. There was a flash in Arcee's eyes. A brief moment they were not completely there, instead stuck in a dark room with metal bars and suffering all around, and over was the moment when they could feel; not cold floor but meshed fibers against them. 

"It's alright Arcee," Shockwave soothed, "It's just me. I brought someone for you to meet." Shockwave moved aside and allowed Arcee to see Megatron standing behind him. 

Arcee's optics widened, a smile pulled on their faceplates as they extended their arms towards Megatron. Arcee gave a delighted squeal and launched past Shockwave. "Megatron!"

Megatron accepted the hug, pressing them close to their chest. Megatron held Arcee with a gentle reverence reserved only for a fellow comrade. "Hello Arcee." 

Arcee held Megatron's face in her hands, looking it over to make sure it was really him they were seeing. "You're alive! And in one piece no less." Arcee grabbed at Megatron, checking over his plating. 

"I'm sorry," Shockwave said, interrupting their reunion, "you two know each other?" He asked hesitantly.

"We were both experimented on." Megatron supplied, "I'm afraid that's all I'm comfortable with saying." 

"Did you ever find them again? The twins you mentioned?" Arcee cut in. 

"I did," Megatron said with a smile, "I'll introduce them to you later. They're with a friend of mine right now." 

"I can't wait."

Shockwave wrinkled his nose. Oh yes, he had forgotten the twins were going to be living here. Shockwave was already forming a headache just thinking about those two. Shockwave turned his attention to Arcee, "Were you waiting by the door for us?" 

Arcee froze, a strange reaction to the question Shockwave thought. Arcee averted their gaze to the floor and then to Megatron for reassurance. When he nodded his head, they spoke, "I was afraid when I woke up the door would be locked and I wouldn't be able to get out. So I slept here." 

There was an awkward pause. It sat in the middle of them like an unwanted child. Megatron cleared his throat, trying to stall for something to say but the poet was out of words. Arcee shuffled in place, dragging their pedes across the floor, creating a horrible screeching sound. 

"Would you like a tour?" Shockwave said, finally speaking up. 

Megatron leapt at the chance and the small group was off. They paraded through all his open living spaces. Up and down the stairs of Shockwave's abode and finally to the master berthroom.

Megatron took the time to admire Shockwave's painted ceiling, making a small comment to himself. "This is one of Sunstreaker's." 

"I'm sorry?" Shockwave didn't quite hear the gladiator. 

"The painting, it's one of Sunstreaker's. You would have seen him when you first visited me. Him and his twin." Megatron explained. 

It took Shockwave a second before he recalled them. "Yes. Ratbat had showed them off along with the combiner. Why were they there if one of them was a painter?" 

"His brother had a gambling problem. He bet away all their money and ended up in debt to RatBat. They're currently paying it off by fighting in the ring." 

"How terrible." Was the only thing Shockwave could use to bookmark the conversation. It truly was terrible, Shockwave did enjoy his mural. The craftsmanship was immense. He remembered the day he ordered it from an unknown painter. Shockwave had given Sunstreaker vague instructions and basically let Sunstreaker interpret his request in any way he wanted. It had taken three weeks to paint. Shockwave docked his pay because it took too long. He was regretting that choice now, like many other things in his past. 

Refueling was an awkward affair. Everyone was quiet. Shockwave's estate was quickly becoming a monument to his sins. Every previously valuable item revealed to have a dark past. It had gotten to the point where right before they entered his kitchen Shockwave broke down. He snapped, whipping around to face his guests. Crying out in anguish as his em field went wild. "Throw it all away!" Shockwave yelled, "Just throw this whole place away! It's all junk anyways, all horrible junk!" The senator kicked a cabinet to emphasize his point. "Go on; tell me how my silverware is made from slaves already; How my carpenter was some famous wood carver that ended up dead."

Megatron and Arcee looked at him stunned.

"Go on!" Shockwave insisted, "Tell me!" 

Megatron swallowed nervously before speaking, "Your kitchen looks nice." 

Shockwave relaxed, dusting his plating absently, "Good," He said feeling rather embarrassed, "Would you like lunch?" 

No further comments were made. 

*

Shockwave found it surprisingly easy to live with both Megatron and Arcee. They often crept around the house silently, exploring or generally keeping busy amongst themselves. Both were neat and Shockwave enjoyed the conversations he had with Megatron. 

They spoke on a wide topic of things, poetry and politics being the two biggest. It was brought to Shockwave's attention how well suited Megatron would be as a speaker. It was apparent Megatron had charisma in spades. Shockwave brought up the idea of Megatron being introduced to the other senators. The former gladiator jumped at the opportunity and they began a sort of charm class. Arcee occasionally joined, though they found the topics boring.

It was exciting, Shockwave was actually making strives towards change. 

Blissfully the twins had yet to arrive in Shockwave's abode. They lingered in his mind like a rot. Cloying every passing thought with their mischief Shockwave knew they were going to cause. Shockwave was tempted to hide all of his breakables. He didn't have to do so for now; Megatron seemed content to keep them away. Eventually their looming threat was forgotten and Shockwave felt content in his home once again. 

It was all going swimmingly until it wasn't. Shockwave blamed himself for the whole encounter. He should have been more sensitive, but simple things tend to slip one's mind. Like the absence of tiny neardowellers. 

It all started when he decided to repaint his frame. He was tired of his current look, the pearl was last season and now high gloss was the trend. As much as Shockwave had given up on many of his vices, he couldn't give up fashion. While he was at the auto body shop, he spotted a striking indigo and the salesperson spoke so highly of it's pigmentation that Shockwave HAD to have it. It took all day to paint his frame. They applied three layers of gloss to get that mirror look he was striving for. It was the night cycle when he got home. 

Shockwave opened his front door and noticed Arcee in their typical spot, asleep in the armchair, watching the door. The blanket they often slept under had fallen off of their slim shoulders. Shockwave had only meant to adjust it. He thought he touched it lightly, barely enough for it to be felt across their sensornet. When he was done he looked up at their face and was surprised to see their optics wide open. 

They were trained on him in such a vicious way that Shockwave knew immediately that he was going to be hurt. Quick as lightning, Arcee grabbed Shockwave's throat cables. Their delicate servo turning into a claw as it viced around his fuel lines. 

Shockwave choked, scrambling at anything he could get a hold off. In his struggle Shockwave managed to knock a lamp off of an end table. It shattered across the floor, his pedes stepping into the broken shards. 

"What's happening?" Shockwave heard Megatron call from upstairs. 

Shockwave made some sort of aborted call to Megatron, Simply spitting static before his voice box was crushed. The noise did not stop Arcee. They kept squeezing. Shockwave could hear the tubing in his neck crumple under the pressure. It was one of the most terrifying sounds he had ever heard in his life. 

In what felt like an eternity Megatron descended the stairs. He rushed Arcee, ripping the smaller bot away from Shockwave. 

The senator coughed, stumbling away and hurriedly dialing for help. 

Megatron made a move to comfort Shockwave. A servo reaching out to grasp at his shoulders, "Senator are you-" 

"Get that thing away from me!" Shockwave yelled, recoiling away from Megatron; away from Arcee.

Shockwave was hit with a pungent wave of hurt. It sent needles across his frame. He stilled his trembling and dared a glance at the pair. 

Sorrow poured from Megatron's optics as he held the still ensensed Arcee. Megatron only stayed as long as it took to acknowledge the remark. He led Arcee away as gently as he could, whispering kind words of comfort in an attempt to calm them. 

Shockwave's neck cabling stung. The panic was receding and now that more than just the sound of his own energon rushing in his tubing could be heard, Shockwave made a call. 

Orion Pax appeared at his abode confused. It was with trepidation that the cop approached Shockwave. His optics were on the obvious servo marks that ringed Shockwave's neck.

"I didn't know what else to do and you said to call if I ever needed anything." Shockwave said inway of explanation. 

Orion Pax said nothing. Shockwave led the police officer up his flight of stairs and to the room Megatron had claimed. Shockwave had seen Megatron pull the still kicking bot in there. Shockwave looked at the door nervously before gesturing for Orion to open it. 

Orion did so with no fear. "Arcee?" He gently called. 

The pink bot was on the recharge slab. Their engine was making awful gasping, choking sounds as they clung onto Megatron. You could feel their em field from across the room. It coated everything with unease and terror. 

Shockwave had never seen someone so afraid. 

"Arcee." Orion called again, approaching slowly. He settled on the floor by their feet. He moved slowly and predictably. When he was settled, he looked up at them, "Can you tell me what happened?" 

"It was an accident-" Megatron started but was quickly silenced with a look from Orion. 

The officer waited patiently and was rewarded with a tentative whisper. 

"I was a-asleep," Arcee said barely above a hush, "It was him again. He came back to life. I couldn't go back, he'd hurt me again, tear me apart. I-i thought…" Arcee's voice trailed off for a moment, wrapped up in the memory of it all before picking up again. "I didn't know. I didn't mean it." Acree pleaded. 

"He knows you didn't. In fact Shockwave called me because he was quite worried about you," Orion comforted. "Can I touch you?" 

Arcee nodded their head in ascent. 

Orion gently laid his servo on their thigh. He waited for a negative reaction, when none happened, he expanded his Em field. 

Arcee gave a hiccup, curling deeper into Megatron. It looked as if the touch was burning, searing in the way they wiggled and clung. Arcee continued to break down, Em field going from hurt to relief. 

It was slowly starting to dawn on Shockwave that this was the only form of positive touch Arcee had received in a long time. A single hand and a gentle em field. 

Arcee slowly gained control of themselves. Arcee no longer shook when they caught Shockwave in their eye. Shockwave did nothing but watch silently as Orion coxed them back from whatever nightmare they were reliving. When the police officer felt confident that Arcee was of no danger to themself or others, he quietly asked to talk to Shockwave alone. 

Shockwave took Orion to his private study that was practically on the other side of the house. Shockwave closed the door quietly, watching Orion look around the room before looking at Shockwave. 

"Do you know why Arcee attacked you?" Orion asked. 

"I have my ideas." Shockwave pawed at his finish. The blue really was close to Bludgeon's. "I didn't think they would react so violently. It's just a colour." 

"They have severe PTSD and trauma.You have to be careful around them. You could have gotten hurt tonight. You saw first hand what they can do when pushed too far." Orion warned.

"I didn't know that would happen, Orion." Shockwave reiterated, "I've never dealt with someone with Arcee's condition. This whole, care taking thing is new to me. I was a scientist in the past, not a psychologist. I'm trying my best. I'm honestly trying to help, I just don't know what to do." Shockwave admitted. 

Orion sighed, "Therapy would be the best option, but…" there was always a but in these types of delicate situations, "Arcee technically doesn't exist. There's no record of them anywhere. No forge or manufacturing date. It's like they just showed up one day." 

"Any treatment Arcee received would have to be off the books. We'd have to find someone willing." Shockwave took a moment to think on the matter. For all of his connections, Shockwave didn't know a single therapist. He was strangely ill equipped for the situation. 

Orion put a servo on Shockwave's shoulder, "I think I know someone and Shockwave, thank you for calling me." Orion added, a genuine smile on his face. 

Shockwave returned the smile. He was feeling a little shook, such a positive emotion was turned his way after the way he seemingly bungled the situation. "Oh, thank you for coming." Shockwave replied, unsure of what exactly to say. 

Orion gave a charming chuckle fit for an elite police guard before turning away, "I'm going to check up on Arcee and Megatron one more time and then I'll be on my way. Have a good night." Orion said as he was leaving the study. 

The door gave a soft click and Shockwave felt like he could finally take a full breath of air. He never knew what to do around Orion and he had no idea why. Perhaps it was because they kept meeting under unsavory conditions. It was more likely something much more simple that Shockwave could not see. Either way, the senator was tired and he had a long day ahead of him tomorrow. With a slow count to five, Shockwave left his study and slept into his berthroom and onto the recharge slab and slept. 

Shockwave didn't recharge for long. He was awoken to the sound of pedes trodding outside of his door. Shockwave almost went back to bed, thinking it was Megatron or Arcee getting a cup of energon from the kitchen. He was kept awake by the two very distinct voices of Rumble and Frenzy, or Frenzy and Rumble. Puzzled, Shockwave waited for them to passby before looking out into the hall himself. He watched their small forms retreat to the end of the hall and into Megatron's room. 

Shockwave pursued as quietly he could. He thought he avoided all of the creaky struts but when he approached the door, Megatron opened it. 

"Hello Shockwave." The gladiator said in a tired tone, "Would you like to come in?" 

"Well if it's not too much trouble." Shockwave said as he nosed past Megatron to see inside of the room. 

Shockwave gave the room a cursory glance, settling on Arcee, the twins and something that was deeply wrong being in Shockwave's hab.

Soundwave should not ever be in his home. The drone shouldn't even be close to where he lived. But he was there, sitting calmly across from Arcee. Red visor trained on Shockwave, in a way he would almost call impassive. That couldn't be correct though, considering the thing was a drone. 

Soundwave's whole presence threw Shockwave. It spun his head into outrageous paranoid delusions of betrayal. "You're a spy!" Shockwave accused, "You tricked me! All this talk of progress and change and you were a spy for RatBat all along!" His thoughts were spiralling. An entire made up plot RatBat was too smart to make in advance playing out perfectly, right down to the coincidence. 

"Shockwave, collect yourself, this isn't as it appears." Megatron tried to explain. 

"Isn't as it appears?" Shockwave screeched, "You have RatBat's drone in my house!" 

"Hey!" A small voice said from below, "Boss ain't no fragging Drone you slag sucker!" 

"Frenzy," Megatron said, addressing the black microbot, "Give me a moment to explain everything to Shockwave." 

"Shockwave." Megatron's voice pulled Shockwave's gaze off of Soundwave. He was still just sitting there, menacingly. Arcee seemed mildly confused by the whole matter. 

"Meet Soundwave, He's a good friend of mine. He's also a telepath." 

Soundwave inclined his head in a short nod before extending his EM field. It was surprisingly honest, full of hints of worry and anxiety. The field was also light, barely detectable to Shockwave's sensors. He gave a puzzled look at the drone. 

"He has an Em field?" Shockwave was fascinated. 

"That's what I was tryin' ta tell ya!" Frenzy pitched in again, undeterred by the stern look Megatron was sending him, "He's a fully forged Mech!" 

"I'm sorry," Shockwave said, looking down at the black twin, "Who are you?" 

"I'm rumble," Frenzy said confidently. 

"Frenzy," Soundwave spoke, "Give proper designation." 

The little bot wilted, giving a disdainful look over his shoulder, "But, Boss!" He said, making a gesture at Shockwave. 

Soundwave simply stared the little menace down. 

Frenzy relented and reintroduced himself, "My name's Frenzy, and that's Rumble." Frenzy said, jabbing a digit towards his blue brother, "Don't forget it either." 

Shockwave nodded his head. 

"We were hoping Soundwave could help Arcee by skimming her thoughts." Megatron said, "Like Mnemory surgery, but less invasive." 

"May I observe?" The scientist in Shockwave was coming out. A telepath. Mech like Soundwave weren't supposed to exist. In front of him sat the contrary, a mech who possessed some outlying ability and rare frame type to boot. 

Megatron looked at Arcee and Soundwave for permission. Soundwave gave an almost imperceptible nod of his helm; Arcee vocalised a small yes before settling down in their seat. With that the two began the process. 

It took only a moment and outwardly nothing changed. Soundwave was as still and quiet as ever, Em field near imperceptible. Arcee's face however was cycling through emotions faster than Shockwave could keep track of. Their Em field was whipping out madly, tossing emotions out into the air like a canon. Sadness, anger, fear, loss, pain, pain, pain, all splintering against Shockwave's plating. Arcee's ventilations were hitching like mad, stuttering over perceived blackages. As soon as it started, it was over and Soundwave calmly reached for a data pad and stylus. 

He wrote down all he saw and handed it back to Arcee. 

Shockwave's curiosity was at boiling point, "What does it say?" Shockwave stepped closer to the duo, leaning over Soundwave's shoulder to see the data pad. Shockwave frowned, the writings made no sense at all to him. 

There was a single word, gate. From there branching lines that connected the word, Caminus, warrior, mission and their name, Arcee. 

It only added to the mystery of it all. Shockwave pointed to the word gate, "What does this mean, gate? What does that have to do with Arcee?" 

"Gate meaning: unclear. Meaning to Arcee only." Soundwave said, clearly annoyed at the senator for leaning over him in such a manner. 

"You don't know?" Shockwave questioned, "You were inside their head, I thought you would know." 

Soundwave gave an irritated huff from his vents. Away from RatBat, the mech was much more animated in his emotions, "Soundwave: access to thoughts only. Context: unknown." 

"It's like reading the middle of a holonovel," Megatron added helpfully, "Soundwave explained it that way. He sees the names and events but he has no way to ascertain the importance or context of most thoughts. To him it's all noise." 

"Fascinating." Shockwave said, turning to look more closely at Soundwave. He always thought there was something off to him, but now it made sense why RatBat would take him everywhere. "Though this has done little to answer the question of where Arcee is from or what Caminus is." 

Megatron and Soundwave shared a look over Shockwave's helm. 

"What? Why are you looking at each other like that?" Shockwave asked. 

"There is someone who might know." Megatron reluctantly replied. 

"Well then, let's ask them." 

"Ravage: difficult." Soundwave argued. 

"They can't be too bad. Give them a comm. Any information at this point is useful." Shockwave urged. 

Megatron gave Soundwave a pleading look. A silent conversation took place between them before Soundwave relented. 

He pressed a button on his chassis and a tape ejected. It transformed and landed gracefully on four black paws. The panther took a moment to shake out it's plating before looking around the room. They purposely avoided looking at Shockwave, instead, giving Megatron and Arcee a greeting before turning to his host, Soundwave. 

"You know how I feel about council mechs. Especially Shockwave." Ravage said pointedly. 

"Ravage: concerns noted; However, information pertaining to Arcee necessary for recovery of memory banks." Soundwave offered his Em field in sympathy to the situation. 

Arcee was remarkably patient. They sat quietly and regarded Ravage with respect, leaning forward to try and get optic level with the cybercat. 

"I'm afraid I don't know too much dear. I've been around since before the golden age, I'd only seen your kind once and it was very brief." 

"Before the golden age?" Shockwave interrupted. 

"Yes. Ravage witnessed the birth of the primes. They're quite possibly the oldest living cybertronian." Megatron said, a tad bit in awe. 

"You come from a colony that was forged by Solus Prime." Ravage said, "When I saw your people, it was a thousand years before we lost ground bridge technology in the Stentation War. A small party had come to Iocon to announce that Caminus had been settled and the first hotspot had appeared. They didn't quite have the shape you do." 

Arcee sat soberly with the information. There was just one question that they couldn't get around, "If ground bridge technology, is that what you called it, was lost… how did I end up here?" 

"That, I'm afraid, I don't know." 

Arcee thanked Ravage for their time before excusing themselves to their room. 

"I don't think I've introduced myself-" Shockwave said, attempting to be polite to the cybercat. 

"I know who you are," Ravage cut him off, "And I know what you think of us." 

Shockwave closed his mouth and cleared his intake awkwardly.

Megatron gave him a pitying look, knowing what Ravage was probably going to say next. 

"I'm going to say this because Soundwave is too polite to voice his opinions. The only reason we're here tonight is Megatron. I don't like you. We don't like you, but we tolerate you because we need your connections, got it?" 

Shockwave turned away from Ravage, addressing Megatron,"Thank you for calling Soundwave to help Arcee, I'm sure they-" 

"-And Arcee isn't a they, she's a she," Ravage interrupted again, "If you actually talked to her you would have known this. Shows how much you actually care." The cybercat sneered before pacing back towards Soundwave and into the safety of their host's docking port. 

Shockwave swallowed thickly and gave a pointed glare at Soundwave. 

The host made no move to rebuke his symbiotes claims. He sat still, em field playing calmly in the air. It was with a relaxed demeanour (that pissed Shockwave off) he got up from his chair and came over to Megatron's side. The blue tape deck slotted neatly against his plating and it made Shockwave's energon boil. 

That should be him. 

Soundwave beckoned the twins to his side, "Rumble,Frenzy: Depart."

"But Boss! We can stay here with Megs can't we?" Rumble tried to argue. 

"Yeah," Frenzy joined in, "Can't we stay with Megs a little longer? We haven't seen him in forever." 

Soundwave looked to Megatron for guidance; It reminded Shockwave of Progenitors looking after their new frames. 

A comforting hand came around and gripped Soundwave's forearm. Megatron leaning slightly to look Soundwave in the optics, "They can stay for a couple of days. I know how hard it is for you to leave, but I promise you I'll keep them safe." 

Soundwave waffled silently for a moment looking between the twins and Shockwave. Finally he relented and gave his permission. Whooping cheers started and were promptly ended at the reminder of the time. They grinned at each other conspiratorially before rushing off down the halls, eager to explore the manor. 

"Don't I get a say in the matter?" Shockwave tried to protest, "This is my home after all." 

Megatron blinked slowly at him. "You agreed to house them when we first discussed my residence here. Are you taking that back?" 

Shockwave had agreed. Megatron in no uncertain terms decreed they were a package deal. Frankly Shockwave had forgotten until then he had made such a promise. The twins were so unimportant to the senator in the grand scheme of things. Shockwave had to think of something to say to cover his blunder, he didn't want to come off as petty. It was obvious the gladiator was fond of them and the host mech.

"I just wanted to tell Soundwave myself is all. Make sure everyone was on the same page; No going around behind people's backs." Shockwave was not petty, not in the slightest. 

"Of course. Thank you for being so welcoming Shockwave." Megatron played along. He smiled sanchrin, placating Shockwave. 

We tolerate you. 

Shockwave smiled back, stiff and uneasy. "No problem. We're all here to try and make a difference." The senator just had to keep reminding himself of that fact. As much as he opposed Soundwave being so involved. He was too close to RatBat.

"Well if you'll excuse me." Shockwave said after a few silent beats, sliding past the two, "I would like to try and rest for the-" Shockwave consulted his chronometer, "30 astro minutes I have left. Good night and I hope you will see yourself out, Soundwave." 

Shockwave's rest was baleful. His optics were sore and his processor ached with all the junk data that was still pinging around in his helm. He took a tertiary glance at his chronometer and regretted it. Not even a minute had passed since he first closed his optics. Shockwave tried once more to recharge. He readjusted his frame, shimming around until he thought he was comfortable. The second attempt lasted a little longer. He managed to snag three astro minutes instead of one. How delightful. 

Giving up entirely, Shockwave left his room and stomped down to his kitchen. Perhaps he needed fuel. A cup of warm energon would surely do the trick. Except Shockwave knows he's only deceiving himself. His fuel levels are fine. Shockwave was going down to the kitchen for an entirely separate reason.

It was silly, it was incredibly stupid. It was a reaction so far beyond what he should feel as a senator, as a mech. In all accounts, he had just met Megatron, he shouldn't be this attached. Shouldn't care this much about an opinion from a poet turned killing machine. But, there was a gentle magnetism that had snagged Shockwave and pulled him. 

Megatron was challenging. An enigma in Shockwave's mind. He could not stop thinking over the mech that was Megatron. It was driving Shockwave mad. 

It was unsurprising that Megatron was not in the kitchen. Why would he be? Megatron had been up all night, much as Shockwave had. Megatron was recharging, as Shockwave should be for what little time it would be worth. It frustrated Shockwave to have himself think he was down here. Why? Because Shockwave wanted him there and mechs usually did what Shockwave wanted. 

'Oh' Shockwave thought to himself. 

Shockwave made his energon, even though he didn't need it, and went to work. It occurred to Shockwave halfway through his commute he would, inadvertently run into Soundwave, and by extension RatBat. He would also have to pretend that Soundwave was un-sparked. Shockwave grimaced, his life was getting unnecessarily complicated these days. 

Shockwave had to concentrate. Get over these mental blocks of his. He had that bill he wanted to pass. Shockwave's day could not be controlled by the thoughts and jealousies surrounding Megatron. 

When he arrived at the Senate his assistant was already at the building. LoudPedal was not very good as an assistant, he was often easily distracted. You could catch the mech humming and tapping away a rhythm during many meetings. Idly writing, or more accurately scribbling lines of music. Shockwave had told him to stop the habit. 

"I can't help it," LoudPedal tried to explain after another reprimand, "I just got all this noise in my head and it never stops. If I don't write it down I can't get anything done."

Shockwave let the issue pass with only the threat that LoudPedal at least not be so disruptive lest he wanted to lose his job. 

The threat seemed to have worked. LoudPedal had a steady uptick of productivity; the cause unknown to Shockwave but he was less distracted in meetings. That just meant LoudPedal had more time to be distracted outside of meetings. Today he was listlessly swaying on his feet as he listened to the busker pluck away on his Holobase, the white and purple Corvette unaware that his data pad was dangling precariously from his half closed servo.

It was always the same one. Some white and black Porsche with a blue visor and friendly smile. "Spare a credit?" He would call as the Senators passed. 

"Sorry, I don't carry chids." Shockwave would answer cooly before calling over his assistant. 

LoudPedal would give a couple shanix and the Busker would dip his head and play a small jingle of appreciation. "Any requests?" The busker would offer up, and every time LoudPedal declined.

"It's alright Pal," the Corvette would say, "I hear too much of the stuff anyways." 

"There's never too much music."

"For me there is." And with that LoudPedal would turn and jog up the stairs to Shockwave's side just in time to give the day's agenda. 

"Your first meeting of the day will be at 12 with the Senate going over the recent tax breaks for the tower mechs. Then the topic will move to proposed infrastructure changes in regards to road and sewer maintenance; Debating on whether it'd be beneficial to replace the workers with drones. And after the meetings RatBat has requested a meeting with you, one on one and then the Winglord of Vos, you remember him? He was looking to schedule a brunch. Should I pencil him in for 3?" LoudPedal asked, impatiently tapping his stylus at the edge of his data pad. 

Shockwave scrunched up his face at the mention of RatBat, "No schedule RatBat after the Winglord and remind me who he is. He's the newly elected one yes?" 

"Starscream was elected a couple of days ago after his predecessor deactivated. He-" 

"-Oh I remember him now." Shockwave said, cutting off LoudPedal, "Yes, the Demon Prince of Vos. What a terrifying mech, I wonder what he wants from me." 

LoudPedal scrolled through his notes until he reached Starscream's memo, "He is wishing to discuss the sharing and expanding of scientific research." 

At least Shockwave would have an interesting conversation after the Senate meeting. "Have you prepared the materials for today's Senate meeting? I will also need relevant documents in regards to what research our Winglord wants."

"Done and Done sir!" LoudPedal said in a chipper tone, "I'm sending the data pack to your personal terminal as we speak." 

"You are rather on top of it today, LoudPedal," Shockwave praised, "What did you change?" 

"Just found a way to get rid of the noise sir, that's all." He replied humbly. 

"Well keep it up." Shockwave said as they smoothly moved into the elevator. 

*  
The Senate meeting was a disaster. Shockwave couldn't believe some of the suggestions he had heard. It ranged from such outrageous ideas as 're-establish the slave class' to 'mass culling of obsolete frame types'. The real rust flakes on the oil cake was when they had settled on the tax cuts to be increased even further with more taxes to the lower and middle classes. 

At least Shockwave was able to save some jobs. Keeping mechs for the maintenance of the drones and having it so the drones increased efficiency by spotting problems and marking them on a map for the mech crews to repair. He thanked that another sector wouldn't be bleeding jobs. Between the recession and the rising crime rates, Shockwave was struggling to keep bailing out the sinking ship. 

It was with exhaustion Shockwave looked over the materials Starscream wanted. Shockwave rubbed at his temples as he went over the gobbly gook of research terms and graphs that even to himself barely made sense. "What does he want with Energon crystal structures and isotope signatures?" Shockwave wondered aloud. 

LoudPedal shrugged before going back to his long list of emails. There were so many, so, so many that said the same things. "Maybe it's a fancy science way of asking for a date." 

"No. Starscream wants something. I just don't know how I fit into this." 

"You never know, I did some pretty weird stuff to get a date before. I once pretended to know a famous musician." LoudPedal recounted. 

RatBat needed to take no for an answer. This was the third email requesting to see Shockwave just a smidge earlier. LoudPedal was half tempted to tell the mech his appointment will be moved to tomorrow. LoudPedal received a ping that Starscream had arrived. With one affirmative look LoudPedal let the seeker inside. 

The Seeker trounced in, Wings held high as they surveyed Shockwave's office before landing on the Senator himself. "I thought you would have bigger windows." Was all Starscream said in a way of greeting. 

"Unfortunately, I'm still new." Shockwave joked, "Hello Starscream." 

"I trust you've read over the materials I requested?" Starscream said, getting straight to the point. 

"I have, though I must admit I am confused by your request. This isn't my field of expertise, I'm hardly the mech to get into the chemistry of Energon." Shockwave gestured for Starscream to take a seat. 

The seeker slid into the seat across from his desk. He sat stiffly, his beautiful wings giving a slight teek as he adjusted himself. "No you're certainly not. If I remember correctly, you graduated the Iocon Academy with a degree in Medical sciences with a minor in engineering before, of course, returning to get a degree in politics." 

"You've certainly done your research on me." 

"It pays to be prepared I find." Starscream remarked. His lip plates curled into a seductive smirk as he watched Shockwave's reactions. 

"Well it certainly worked out for you." Shockwave said neutrally. 

Starscream's smirk grew, "Yes it certainly did. Though we are not here to discuss my path to success; as much as I would like to. I'm supporting a very promising young scientist and I was wondering if you would be interested in his funding." 

Shockwave settled back in his chair, "I'm listening."

"My scientist is researching a way to convert organic matter into energon. We've already had some very promising early results." Starscream pulled a data pad out of his subspace and handed it over to Shockwave. 

Shockwave skimmed through the contents and was stunned. The signatures of the fake energon were surprisingly close to the real thing, though more unstable. From the time stamps the project had only been started six lunar months ago and already it was nearing the prototype phase. 

"We were hoping with a little bit more funding I could move him to a bigger lab with some more equipment. He has expressed to me that a hadron collider would be needed for him to complete his work." 

"What's his frame type?" Shockwave asked cooly. 

Starscream stiffened up minutely, the confident smile on his face slipping slightly, "He's a shuttle, but I assure you he's brilliant." 

"Oh I have no doubts about that. His work speaks for itself." Shockwave said, motioning to the data pad. "You haven't had much luck on this project have you?" 

"I will admit, the results have been middling." Starscream dodged, "But I'm sure the lack of interest simply comes from a lack of understanding about what this project will ultimately do." 

"It will lower energon prices and solve the hunger crisis. They'll never go for it. Many of the senators have stocks in the energon mines. You would instantly deflate the price of Energon and lower their stock values. This is a very noble project Winglord but the Senate isn't interested in making things better." Shockwave said cooly. 

Starscream's plating bristled, his Em field rippling with anger and dread, "Are you saying I should give up? We're on the cusp of a breakthrough, if I have to I will bribe and kill to get him what he needs." 

"I'm just stating you're about to make a lot of enemies Starscream." 

"I already have plenty of enemies. You think adding a few more would cow me?" Starscream challenged. 

"Not at all, frankly you terrify me. There's no clever way to say this, but I'd rather have you on my side then against me. I'll fund your scientist, if you vote on my upcoming bill." 

Starscream settled back into his seat, his plating once again settling down. "Fine. You have a deal." 

Shockwave smiled and warmly offered his Servo, "Then we have a deal. Would you like to go for energon?" 

Starscream took the appendage, smiling demurely, "Getting friendly already Senator?" Starscream asked with a bit of bite at the end of his words. 

"Simply putting off my next appointment." Shockwave got up, pushing in his chair as he rounded the desk to LoudPedal. "Did you want anything?" 

LoudPedal looked up from his email, stylus clutched between his dente, "Huh? Oh, no I'm alright Sir. Well…" LoudPedal's voice trailed off as he checked his fuel levels, "Maybe I need a top up." 

Shockwave smiled fondly at his assistant, "If anyone calls I'll be back in an hour." 

LoudPedal gave a nod and went back to his emails. 

The ride down to the lobby was mainly silent, Starscream denying to make any comments until they had left the Senate building. 

They were seated in a small upscale cafe a few blocks away from their work. They were set up in a private booth in the back of the restaurant away from prying optics and audio receptors. They were each served a moderate sized cube of energon with complimentary rust sticks between them. The small treat was ignored as Shockwave stared Awkwardly at Starscream. 

"So who's your next appointment." The seeker finally said over the edge of his cube. The effervescent jet fuel shimmered as Starscream twirled his glass. 

"Senate RatBat wished to meet with me." 

"To talk about whatever science project he wants you to complete for him." 

"Yes." Shockwave answered nervously, "I wasn't aware you knew about that." 

Starscream gave a sharp smile, "He may have let it slip that Jetfire would be sharing his lab space." 

"Jetfire?" 

"My scientist. I think RatBat's a fool for keeping Soundwave so close to him. It's obvious Soundwave's only biding his time until the old fool slips up. The smartest thing RatBat ever did was introduce you to Megatron." 

"How do you know about Soundwave?" Shockwave asked. 

"I tried to bug him. Imagine my surprise when the drone had an em field and actually jumped in pain. RatBat promised me lab space in return for that little secret. How do you know about Soundwave?" Starscream countered. 

"I caught him by surprise," Shockwave lied, "I was turning a corner and he wasn't expecting me." 

Starscream gave a small chuckle. "He's a surprisingly bad actor at times. Though what do you expect? You can beat a mech until their em field is almost nothing but you can't get rid of instinct. In a few ways Soundwave and I are similar. We were two puppets waiting for their time. It'll be interesting to see what he does." 

Shockwave took a sip of his own energon. Shockwave was not enjoying where this conversation was going. Perhaps it would be better to quickly grab LoudPedal's fuel and excuse himself. 

"Personally," Starscream continued, unbothered by Shockwave's lack of response, "I think Soundwave will give RatBat a fate worse than death. I think Soundwave knows exactly how to strip away his pride." 

"Why are you telling me this Starscream?" Shockwave finally spoke up. 

"Just a reminder of who you should actually be afraid of; take it as advice from one newbie to another." Starscream made a show of taking a long sip from his cube, "Try to remember who's going obsolete by the end of the day, and who's going to be the new power." 

"The implication being us and Ratbat's drone secretary." Shockwave clarified. 

"And your gladiator turned house pet." Starscream added, "The four of us will be the leaders for change." Starscream raised his cube in a toast and Shockwave reluctantly returned it. 

"For change." He echoed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of memes I thought of as I was writing the end of the chapter 
> 
> LoudPedal: 👁️👄👁️
> 
> Me: I'm adopting this man and taking him off the streets
> 
> Me:Man, I really want to end this chapter
> 
> Also me: I think Starscream and Shockwave should go on a lunch date together


	3. Fruition of Plans Come to Seed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forced by a shortened deadline from Ratbat, Shockwave struggles to give control completely over to Megatron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest chapter I've written for this yet. I just felt that this would be a good place to cut off before the finale. The finale will probably take a while, there is a lot I need to cover and I have to make sure I can tie in Mirage and his plotline seamlessly into this story at the end.
> 
> Thanks to all that read.

It was dawning on Shockwave, that he was never in control. That he never had a clue what exactly Megatron had been talking about in his speeches. Starscream had overplayed his hand. He had shown Shockwave a glimpse into something that was happening underneath his nose, in his very house without his knowledge. It was that need to gloat and rub in Shockwave's ignorance that unwittingly or otherwise, tipped him off. There was collusion afoot within the Senate, and he was being played. 

'So a gladiator, a Winglord and a living drone walk into a bar' Shockwave thought to himself. The situation was almost comical. It was all making sense. No wonder Megatron was upset when his bond was paid, RatBat was his recruiter. He would bring senator's to his battles and the interested ones would seek him out afterwards. Megatron had probably sunk his hooks in Starscream long before he became Winglord. 

After all, Starscream was the conjux of the previous Winglord, DreadWing. 

DreadWing brought his pretty seeker everywhere. The head of Vos' air military, Starscream, was both beautiful and intelligent. He was vicious and conniving, all sharp smiles and rumors that he had poisoned the previous Air Commander. Now there were rumors he had done the same thing to DreadWing. 

Starscream would have met Megatron the same way Shockwave did, through a political invitation from RatBat. 

Megatron probably convinced him to kill his conjux. Though to be honest, Starscream would have done it without Megatron's convincing.

It made Shockwave wonder; who else? What was the end goal? Change, obviously, but what did that look like? Shockwave's tanks roiled as he approached his office. Perhaps he should have talked to Starscream second. Then he could have at least escaped to his home to interrogate Megatron. 

Megatron. Would he have even given Shockwave the answers he wanted? Probably not, but from the way Starscream spoke, he was about to be given a much larger part. It was going to be the four of them. 

RatBat's face was not helping the turmoil that was happening inside of Shockwave. The shrewd little Senator was posted up in front of Shockwave's office, Soundwave ever present at his side. RatBat's em field was roiling with irritation. 

Shockwave debated even acknowledging RatBat. It would be so much easier to brush him off and hide in his office for a few more minutes. But knowing RatBat, he'd probably start banging on the door. Shockwave sighed deeply, "Good evening Senator RatBat." 

"How long do you expect me to wait?" The elder statesman snapped. 

"Just a few more minutes." Shockwave assured, scuttling around RatBat and to his office door. Shockwave gave a benign smile as he shut the door in RatBat's face. He leaned against the door and gave a tired look to LoudPedal. 

"He wouldn't leave." His assistant bemoaned. 

"It's alright," Shockwave said, taking out LoudPedal's cube from his subspace, "I figured he would be here."

LoudPedal took the offered energon gratefully. "I have the documents set out on your desk. He wants to set a deadline for his project." 

Shockwave crossed the room and sat heavily in his chair. He didn't even want to look at the documents, let alone talk to RaBat. "Was that all he wanted? He could have sent an email for that."

"I think he wants to threaten you." LoudPedal added. 

Of course he did. Tell Shockwave something he didn't know. It was days like this that made Shockwave wish he had just stuck to science and academia. He sat in his chair and sighed deeply before willing himself to take at least a cursory glance at the timeline RatBat wanted. 'I just want you to know I hate you' he quickly thought, hoping Soundwave had heard him, 'I hate you and I hate your boss.' Shockwave felt instantly foolish afterwards. 

The deadline was unreasonably tight and would require Shockwave to practically live in the lab in order to meet it. This was no doubt an attempt at stopping Shockwave from talking to the other senators about his upcoming bill. The bill would give more funding to walk in and dead end clinics, offering programs and support for the disenfranchised. It would immediately cut down RatBat's fodder, how tragic for the mechanimal. 

"Alright. I'm ready as I'll ever be," Shockwave announced, "let them in." 

LoudPedal opened the door for them and was immediately pushed aside by RatBat. LoudPedal shot daggers at the senator before going back to his desk. 

"Do you mind if we have some privacy?" RatBat loudly asked, pointedly looking at LoudPedal with disdain. 

LoudPedal sighed, getting up from his desk and going to the door, slamming it on his way out. 

"Anything else you require?" Shockwave said, barely holding back the sarcasm in his voice. 

"Just your attention." RatBat said almost sweetly. 

Shockwave levelled him with a bored stare as Soundwave looked over RatBat's shoulder. 

Knowing Soundwave was alive surprisingly did not make his stare less unnerving. He swore Soundwave was looking at him but with that visor obscuring his optics, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. 

"I trust you read over the documents?" RatBat said, quickly covering the beat of silence. 

"I did." Shockwave answered. 

"Then you know if it's not done by then, I'm pulling my vote. It's a simple matter of results." RatBat tried to give a threatening smile, but after a lunch with Starscream, it looked almost amateurish in its attempt. 

"If you don't mind me saying Senator RatBat, I don't think it's a 'simple matter' at all. I think this was planned and you would much prefer if my proposed changes failed to see the light of day." 

"Are you accusing me of sabotage?" 

"Is that what you're doing?" 

"No not all." RatBat tried to cover. 

"Then you'll understand I need a few more days then what you've given me." 

"I can't provide those. The unfortunate incident with Bludgeon has put us too far behind. The project must be completed by the deadline."

"In time for your reelection." Shockwave pressed. 

"I hadn't noticed." RatBat said, playing at nonchalance, "regardless, two orns is all the time I can give you." 

"How am I to do my work if I am stuck in a lab all day?" Shockwave tried to reason. 

"I don't know," RatBat replied flippantly, "Maybe your political gladiator will have some idea." 

A lightbulb went off in Shockwave's processor. 

*  
Shockwave was ecstatic when he finally approached his manor. It felt like he finally had a grasp of everything. Shockwave was once again the smartest mech in the room. He wasted no time, bolting through his manor on his search for Megatron. He briefly stopped in with Arcee. 

She was reading a holonovel quietly, the daylight washing over her plating. She looked peaceful as she lounged on his windowsill. 

Shockwave knocked on the doorframe, "Can I come in?"

Arcee took a moment to collect herself, she still jumped slightly at the sight of Shockwave. She nodded and Shockwave took a couple steps towards her but stopped as her frame involuntarily tensed. 

"I just wanted to come by and apologize. I said some rather hurtful things last night. Orion, he explained why, you know," Shockwave made a vague gesture with his hand, "and I just wanted to say I'm sorry." 

Arcee offered him a kind smile, putting her holonovel aside, "Thank you Shockwave. Apology accepted." 

"I also want you to know, if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just have to ask. This is your home too Arcee and I'm sorry I haven't done more to make it feel that way." Shockwave said sincerely. 

"Thank you, just a place to stay has been more than enough. But… if you wouldn't mind changing your paint?" 

Shockwave looked at his arm and realized he was still that dark indigo that Bludgeon was, "Sorry, I meant to change it as soon I finished work. Though maybe that's for the better, I have no idea what colour I should have." 

"Purple's a nice colour. Something soft?" She offered. 

"Purple it is." Shockwave agreed. He was just about to leave when Arcee called to him again. 

"I invited Orion over tomorrow evening. Is that alright?" 

"Of course it is." Shockwave assured her, "I hadn't realized you two had gotten so close." 

"He gave me his comm frequency last night. I didn't even know I had one, but he helped me find it. We've been chatting all day. Orion is very kind." Arcee's em field swelled with adoration as she spoke about Orion. 

It pleased Shockwave to see Arcee grow more relaxed. He would have to thank Orion. "I'm happy to hear you made a friend. You wouldn't happen to know where Megatron was would you?" He asked. 

Arcee was returning to her holonovel, "No I hadn't. The twins were by earlier, I believe they were headed to your office." She said with a slight twist of her lips.

"They better not." Shockwave warned. He was two steps away when Arcee called him back. 

"Shockwave, don't be afraid to approach me either. I know you want to give me my own space and freedom, but it gets lonely. Don't be a stranger." Arcee said with a pleasant smile. It was not a twist, or an attempt, but a genuine smile that lit a small flame of fondness in him.

"Will do." He gave the door frame a pat before rushing off to his office. He hoped the two mini disasters hadn't done anything too grievous yet. 

Primus was not kind to Shockwave. He had walked in and concealed behind his desk the two twins were, giggling conspiratorially to each other. "What do you two think you're doing?" He bellowed. 

They froze in place a moment, both looking towards Shockwave with fear and surprise across their faces. Frenzy slammed a drawer closed, a clipped "Nothing!" Leaving their mouths. 

Shockwave raised an eyebrow ridge not believing the little pit spawns for a second. 

"Honest." The black one, Frenzy, Shockwave reminded himself, said. He was smiling angelically, keeping his servos purposely behind his back.

"Yeah we uh, we weren't doing nothing in here. Just checking out the sights!" Rumble spit out. 

Frenzy cringed beside him. 

Shockwave noted the obvious admission of guilt. He squinted his optics, pitching his voice low he growled, "What did you do?" He focused his attention on Rumble, taking menacing steps towards him. 

Frenzy stepped in front of his twin, sneering at the senator as he made his approach. Shockwave's gaze drifted down to Frenzy's servos spotting red paint tinting the whites of his finger tips. Shockwave's em field took on a tiny flicker of rage before he reigned it in. 

A smirk took over his face as he pulled up Megatron's comm frequency. The twins glanced nervously between each other. Understanding flitted between their optics. Rumble decided to try and make a break for it. 

"Oh no you don't!" Shockwave slammed the door to his office and stood in front of it, cutting off their escape. Rumble's visor fritzed for a brief moment. He was starting to panic. 'Good' thought Shockwave, 'Let them quake in fear.'

:Megatron: Shockwave commed :Your wards are in my office. I am of the strong belief they poured paint in my drawers.: 

:I'll be there in a moment: Was Megatron's immediate reply. 

Shockwave smiled deviously, "Just you wait until Megatron comes here." 

"Oh no! Not Megatron!" Frenzy shouted in high theatrics. 

Rumble started giggling, barely getting out a sentence around them, "I'm shaking in my... in my struts!"

They seemed a lot more afraid when they thought it was just Shockwave. 

:Megatron they're laughing at me. Please expedite your arrival to my office: Shockwave pleaded. 

A sharp knock broke Shockwave's staring contest with the twins. The two microbots straightened up, sliding next to each other in the perfect picture of innocence. Shockwave opened the door, distrustful of the new act they were putting on. 

Megatron looked down at Rumble and Frenzy, "Boys," he casually greeted, "Soundwave will be very disappointed to hear about this." 

“You wouldn’t tell the boss.” Frenzy argued, crossing his arms in front of his chassis, "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Megatron asked, "Soundwave is arriving tomorrow. I'm sure he'll want to know how you two are doing."

Rumble was the first to crack. He kept glancing nervously at Frenzy, wringing his servos. They were clearly talking over comms, Frenzy getting more outwardly agitated as their conversation went on. 

"I'll also tell him about your late night adventures. Don't think I hadn't noticed you two sneaking out." Megatron added. 

"He's bluffing…" Frenzy told Rumble, though his voice lacked the confidence from earlier. 

"Boss is totally going to know!" 

"He's not going to know. How would he know?" Frenzy pointed out. 

"I'm gonna think about it; I just know I am!" 

"You have thoughts?" Frenzy teased. 

"This isn't a joke Frenzy! He's never going to let us out of the dock again! Remember what he said last time?" 

Frenzy froze, his em field leaking fear and panic, "Oh we're so fragged." 

"Not," Megatron interrupted their panic, "If you clean out Shockwave's drawers. I may neglect to tell Soundwave anything about this incident." 

The twins had another conversation over comms before agreeing. Megatron smiled, "Good. Then I will be back with your cleaning supplies." Megatron opened the door to the office, gesturing for Shockwave to follow him. 

Shockwave did, giving one last glance towards the twins. He caught Frenzy giving Rumble a rough push before turning back to the desk, displeasure ripe in their fields. ‘Good,’ Shockwave thought, ‘Let this be a lesson to them.’ 

“I’m sorry about them. I’m afraid I’m the ‘Cool progenitor’” Megatron said, making air quotes, “They’ll clean up your desk, though I can’t guarantee they won’t do something like that again.” 

"Are they your progeny?" Shockwave asked honestly. He did feel like they were more familiar with each other than what he was let on to believe. 

"No, I simply look after them. When I worked in the mines on luna 2 they were my tools, I was responsible for them. Unfortunately that meant when I was incarcerated they had to come with me or risk deactivation. In a way I'm glad they came with me, they never would have met Soundwave otherwise." Megatron said, a far away smile on his face as he talked. 

Shockwave stared at him sharply, "Oh?" Malice just hinted in his field, "What did Soundwave do?" 

Megatron paused. His brow furrowed in concentration as if running over his memory with a fine tooth comb. "It's hard to explain exactly what he did for them," Megatron finally settled on, "But it vastly improved their quality of life." 

Shockwave found that hard to believe but made no further comment about the twins. “Ratbat has moved the time table up on his project. He has made it so I can no longer work as a senator and a scientist.” Shockwave looked at Megatron for a reaction. He took note of the small tweak of interest from Megatron’s field before continuing, “Ratbat thought you might have some ideas. I think you have more than just ideas, I think you have a plan.” 

“A plan?” 

“Don’t play coy. Starscream told me at our meeting today, you have a plan. I want to know what it is. If you’re going to keep manipulating me I at least want to know what the end goal is.” 

"Starscream didn't tell me you two had a meeting." Megatron growled out. 

"It was purely work related," Shockwave assured, "You know how seekers are, they love to talk." 

Megatron made a thoughtful noise, "That they do." 

"He seems to believe you'll be coming into power," Shockwave pressed, "Care to elaborate?" 

"No," Megatron said firmly, "There are too many moving parts for you to know completely. You want to know our end goal, We want an end to the old power, by any means." Megatron looked at Shockwave with interest. His red optics gleaming in the overhead lights. Shockwave felt small and unsure under that gaze. ‘This is going to be a mistake’ Shockwave thought. Shockwave wondered how far back the planning went for this moment to happen. 

It couldn’t have been the first encounter, there was no guarantee that Shockwave would have even spoken to Megatron. He must have damned himself on the second, Shockwave concluded. There was probably some vague idea about what they wanted, easy enough to improvise with their little coup so scattered. Starscream and Soundwave feeding information and manipulating the senate on Megatron’s behest. Shockwave probably fed him information as well unknowingly. He was doing what they wanted once again.

“I need someone to fill in for me at the senate. RatBat has pushed up his time table for his combiner project and I will be required full time at the lab. It looks like your time has come Megatron, congratulations.” Shockwave looked away, unwilling to meet his gaze. 

“You’re working on it?” a feminine voice behind Shockwave sounded. 

Shockwave turned around with Megatron. Arcee was standing before them, servo’s clenched tightly to her sides. “I didn’t have a choice,” Shockwave weakly defended, “We made a deal.” 

“Arcee,” Megatron’s voice cut in, “Did you not know?” 

“About Shockwave’s involvement in my torture? No, I had no idea. I had no idea he could work with that psychopath!” Arcee spit out. 

“I didn’t know what Bludgeon was doing to you either! He was my friend!” Shockwave assuaged.

“But after learning what he was doing, you’re continuing his work?” Arcee’s em field was swinging wildly at him, pelting him with all the hurt, anger and betrayal in her body. 

Shockwave had no good response to her.

“Arcee-” Megatron tried to placate but was quickly cut off with a shout. 

“-No!” Her optics were blazing with indignant fury, “You don’t get to defend him! You knew this would upset me and you hid it from me. How could you? I thought you were my friend, don’t you think I deserved to know? And you,” Acree pointed an accusatory finger toward Shockwave, “How long have you been working on this? How long?” 

Shockwave swallowed loudly, “I’ve been working since the lab reopened three cycles ago.” 

“Disgusting…” Arcee sneered, “I can’t live in this house. Not when mechs keep willfully letting others suffer for their gains.” 

“It’s a necessary evil.” Megatron argued. 

“No it’s not! What was done to you, what was done to me, what he’s going to do! That’s not necessary! There are other ways to get things, Megatron, besides violence!” Arcee searched the gladiator's gaze for something, some shred of remorse. But his optics were dark and his will was supreme and she knew when it was a loss. “What happened to you after the lab? You weren’t like this before. You would have never dreamed of saying something that heinous to me.” 

“I cannot say Arcee.” Megatron said softly. 

Arcee let out an ugly snort, “A poet with no words, I find that hard to believe,” She turned her attention to Shockwave. The coward was still standing there, standing closer to Megatron for support, to think she was beginning to like him, “I’m leaving tonight, I’ll talk to Orion when he comes by. I guess you won’t have to change your paint.” She turned quickly on her heel, leaving them to watch her back until she disappeared around a bend in the hall. 

They were left alone with each other. There was a beat of silence before Shockwave turned on Megatron, "This was your fault." Not a second later he was leaving as well. 

"Where are you going?" Megatron called after him. 

"To get a new paint job!" And shockwave was out his front door, hating his mirror finish with a passion.

*

Shockwave arrived back home, purple, just before Orion was scheduled to be there. He stood before his own home with apprehension and a satin paint job, apparently it was in style. Shockwave steadied himself before taking the few steps over the boundary. 

The house was the same as he had left it. Not a thing was out of place in his massive space. All the nicknacks, and sculptures still stood judgmentally on their shelves and on his floor in the same imposing way they always had. But, it was notably quieter. Not even the fast steps of the twins could be heard. It put Shockwave on edge as he made his way to his small dispensary. 

Shockwave startled when he spotted Soundwave sitting down at his table. Megatron had mentioned him coming by tonight. Though it was still jarring to see him. 

Soundwave's field gently reached out in greeting and Shockwave reciprocated on instinct. "Where is everyone?" He quietly asked. 

Soundwave was gorging himself on fuel, three empty cubes ringing him. A fourth was at his lips. Shockwave stared for a moment, taking in Soundwave's features. They were surprisingly beautiful for Soundwave's frame type. 

"Does RatBat not fuel you?" The question left Shockwave's mouth before he could think better of it. 

A withering glare was sent his way. Shockwave moved on, deciding he would refuel later. He passed by Arcee’s room, or rather, former room. A quick pass informed him that the few possessions she owned were gone, packed away in boxes close to the door. Shockwave was relieved he hadn’t missed her leaving. He continued his walk down the hall, stopping next at Megatron’s abode. 

He heard voices through the door, low and indistinct. Shockwave pressed his helm to the door, hoping to catch a snippet of the conversation. Something inside of him was telling him to not open the door quite yet. 

He heard nothing. It burned at him but it only took a minute more of muffled chatter and the days exhaustion to catch up to him. He hadn't been recharging and it was starting to affect his mind. It was probably just Arcee and Megatron talking about something benign. 

The constant suspicion of conspiracy was driving Shockwave a little bit insane. It was four dimensional Hax playing constantly in his head. He barely knew if he qualified for being on Megatron's side, or what that side really was. He didn't even know who the opponent was. The Senate? That seemed too easy, but that had to be it. It couldn't be the prime. Sentinel Prime was just a figurehead. 

Shockwave had spoken to Sentinel on a number of occasions and he was a brute with little interest in politics. He lazed about his days, partying and gambling all worldly troubles away in his impossibly high tower. He was an imbecile but ultimately harmless. His thinking was going in circles. 

Shockwave checked his chronometer. It was late but still too early in the day to retire. He didn't want to recharge in case he missed Arcee leaving. He slowly made his way to his office, perhaps work would help fill his time. He trudged his way into his office. The drawers were immaculately cleaned, Shockwave noted. If it wasn’t for the faint traces of red caught in the seams Shockwave would have never known. Shockwave was glad that he didn’t really store anything in the desk drawers. 

He powered on his terminal, opening up his latest research files. He had ironed out his theory and now live trials were the next stage. He worried his lip as he looked at the frame modifications and then at his participants. RatBat said they were willing but Shockwave highly doubted that. He stared hesitantly at their matching portraits, split spark twins, just like he asked. He pushed Arcee to the back of his mind as she attempted to haunt his thoughts. He needed to do this, and he wasn’t Bludgeon. 

He lost himself in his work, finalizing reports and going over notes and research. Anything he could read to maybe avoid unneeded suffering. He set out orders for fabrication of his custom parts, deciding to go for premium and charging it back to RatBat. A small act of petty revenge that made Shockwave feel slightly better. He was having problems with an allocation of funds form, the paperwork always being the worst, when he heard a light knocking on his door. He absently called for them to come in. He was shocked to see Orion standing in his door. 

“Is this a bad time?” He asked cautiously. Orion wavered in the door, his frame back lit against the hallway lights. Had Shockwave neglected to turn on his office lights? He looked at the clock and realized hours had passed. 

“Of course not.” Shockwave said, saving his document. 

“Arcee has explained to me the situation, and I agree with her.” 

The answer was unsurprising and truthfully, Shockwave didn’t much care about what Orion thought of him. 

“However, as upset as she is with you, I feel like she would appreciate you saying goodbye to her.” 

“Would she even want me there?” Shockwave asked quietly. Arcee had made it quite clear where they stood with each other. 

“I’m not sure,” Orion answered honestly, “Though I think you want to be there.” 

“It doesn't matter what I want anymore,” Shockwave spat out bitterly, “I’ve gotten plenty of what ‘I want’... I will not impose myself on Arcee any further. You can tell her I am sorry. I wish her the best and happiness, in whatever form that takes.” Shockwave turned his gaze away from Orion, focusing back on his terminal. He stared at the screen waiting for the officer to leave. 

He heard Orion vent deeply, “We’ll be leaving in 20 minutes if you change your mind.” The office door clicked softly behind Orion’s retreating form. Shockwave was once again bathed in the subtle blue glow of his monitor. 

Shockwave felt pathetic. He wiped a servo across his faceplate and sat miserably. He waited five minutes before getting up, smoothly pushing in his chair. He made as far as the banister. Shockwave could not will himself down the stairs even if he wanted to. Stuck at the invisible barrier between them, Shockwave watched Arcee. 

She was talking to Orion, his large frame almost hiding her. Shockwave only caught the occasional slip of pink and he felt guilty once again. He didn't say anything, fearing her reaction if he were to call out to her. 

Megatron was there as well, off to the side with Soundwave at his arm. The twins were in front of Megatron, acting as a barrier between the gladiator and the Camian. They put on a brave face, their tiny bodies forming a larger than life wall of protection.

Shockwave heard little of the conversation below. Both parties; and they were individual parties, separated across his foyer, spoke in hushed tones. He leaned against his bannister, hoping to catch a snippet. At that exact moment, Orion shifted to the side and Shockwave got a clear view of Arcee's face. 

She had a stern expression, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned down as they spoke. Her optics flicked over Orion's shoulder where she spotted Shockwave. The frown she wore instantly deepened. There was some other emotion playing out on her face that Shockwave did not know what to label. The contact was only for a moment before she looked back to Orion. 

Shockwave turned away and went back to his study, closing himself within the comforting darkness. He got back to work and by the time he settled down for recharge, his paperwork was completed and no thoughts about Arcee remained. 

In the morning, Shockwave steadfastly ignored the impulse to look into Arcee's former room. Instead he lurched into his dispensary. Four cubes had been left at his table in spite. Shockwave wrinkled his nose at the sight and quickly tossed them in his sink to deal with later. Would it have killed Soundwave to put them at least beside the sink? He poured himself some energon and frowned at his fuel meter, how could he let it dip into the 40's like that? He must have been more distracted with his work than he thought. 

Work. Shockwave was not excited to go into the lab. He had already notified LoudPedal of Megatron temporarily taking over for him. Shockwave realized he had done little to prepare the gladiator for the role. He just hoped those charm classes they had done were enough. It was Shockwave's whole career he was putting on the line. 

There was no further use fretting about it, what's done is done. Chalk it up to another rash decision made by emotion. It's not like he had much of a choice, Shockwave told himself. He finished his cube quickly, dumping it in the sink to join the others before hurrying off. He'll take care of that eventually and if not him, then Megatron. 

The drive to the lab was slow, it left an uncomfortable time for Shockwave to dwell on his anxieties. All he could do was focus on the feeling on the road beneath him. The lab had almost become a welcome sight after the drive. 

The building still looked the same after the incident. There was no dark cast of shadow that permanently clung to its exterior like an omen. It was a building, the same as it had been when Shockwave first approached it. Shockwave still gazed at it with distrust. He walked towards the entrance with dread heavy in his spark. 

Upon his arrival, Shockwave heard movement on the other side of the laboratory door. A mech with no limbs struggling to breathe, insides exposed in an unholy fashion, briefly flashed in his mind's eye before he opened the door. The sight that greeted him was far from that sinister vision. 

Jet fire was big. With no exaggeration, the shuttle walked with a stoop, otherwise his head would have scrapped the ceiling. His wings were wide, but he held and maneuvered them with such care that not a beaker stirred when he passed by. There was a serene aura that possessed the jet with a vengeance. 

Shockwave cleared his intake, subtly announcing his presence. 

Jetfire looked at Shockwave, his hands were very delicately gripping a beaker. Shockwave marveled at the control in his servos. "Hello," He spoke softly, "I'm not sure if Starscream ever introduced me, I'm Jetfire, I'll be sharing the lab with you." Jetfire gave Shockwave an unearned friendly smile. It was strange to think a mech this outwardly kind actively associated with Starscream.

"He did." Shockwave said, a little too curt, "It's nice to formally meet you, Jetfire." 

"Likewise. Your reputation precedes you." Jetfire said, not unkindly. 

“Oh?” 

“Orion says you’re one of the few good ones.” 

It was mildly comforting to hear those words from Jetfire, though Orion’s name brought up a pang of guilt. Shockwave offered a thin smile before making his way over to his station on the other side of the lab. 

The items he ordered had not arrived and would not for some time, they were all custom parts. His main goal today was to construct the coding he would insert into the twins. In theory, it should be like a triple changer surgery, with a few extra tweaks. It was those tweaks Shockwave was so nervous about. One bad piece of code could tell the twins frames to turn themselves inside out. 

He had been working on the code at home, writing it tirelessly. It wasn’t complete and he needed to run simulations before he even thought about live trials. He would have to rush the formatting to save time. He opened up the profile of the twins once again, looking over their frame specs. No more was revealed to him from the last time and he gave up and got to work. 

The low sound of Jetfire humming broke Shockwave’s concentration at points. He didn’t notice it at first, the shuttle quiet enough for Shockwave to forget he was even there, but soon, he noticed the repeating melody. It was a short thirty second loop, occasionally Jetfire would stutter and repeat the loop a few seconds short. Shockwave tried to block it out but once he noticed it, he couldn’t stop noticing it. “If you’re going to sing, Jetfire, could you at least finish the song?” 

“Oh, sorry, I hadn’t even noticed I was doing it.” Jetfire said sheepishly. Silence reigned in the lab once again. 

Shockwave let out a deep sigh and Jetfire started gradually humming again. It was going to be a long day. 

When Shockwave returned to his abode, he had managed to complete the code and run a few simulations but it was still less than he wanted to get done. He was tired and cranky, Jetfire’s pleasant attitude slowly turning grating. Shockwave would bring music next time and drown out the shuttle, maybe listen to C Shadow’s new album while he worked. 

When he arrived, Megatron was there to greet him, A pleasant thrum ran through his EM field. Shockwave gave him a sideways glance, “Enjoy your first day?” Shockwave asked cautiously.

“Extremely, I cannot thank you enough Shockwave.” 

“You should be thanking Ratbat, he’s the one that gave me the idea.” Shockwave said, passively brushing off Megatron. 

The gladiator trailed on his heels as Shockwave made his way to his private wash rack. “Nonsense. You made a wonderful call.” 

“Yes, because I was left with so much choice.” Shockwave gave a glance over his shoulder at Megatron. There was a slight stutter to his step on the stairs, “I’m sorry to inform you I can tell when I’m being manipulated. I’m sure Ratbat didn’t think of forcing me into the lab on his own. Was it Starscream that suggested the schedule increase?” 

“Soundwave actually.” Megatron admitted. 

Of course it was Soundwave. Primus made to torture him. Shockwave wanted to sink into his oil bath even more. He needed a long, long soak to forget the day. Megatron was still nipping at his heel struts and it was driving Shockwave mad as he neared his room. Shockwave paused outside of his door, servo clutching the door knob. He took a deep vent before speaking, barely keeping his tone even, “Was there something else you needed from me?” 

“Not at this moment, no.” 

“I’m sure you’ll manipulate me to do it later.” Shockwave said bitterly. Shockwave made to move through the door, but Megatron’s servo reached out and pushed it closed. Shockwave spun around, a growl rising in his throat. He opened his mouth but closed it at the look Megatron leveled at him. 

His optics were burning with a deeply settled hate. It was a long, dark wound playing across his em field that slowly engulfed Shockwave. He was paralyzed in awe. “I wouldn’t have to manipulate you and string you along if you truly stood behind what you say you do.” 

“I do!” Shockwave argued, “Everyday I try to change things! I’m doing all I can do Megatron, I don’t know what more you want from me. I feel blind and wasted, waiting for you to move me like some pawn! I want to be a part of this Megatron, and it is frustrating how you don’t even trust me with the details.”

“Shockwave, I cannot share the details with you because you are inherently a part of the problem. I understand you are trying your best, it is no fault of your own that I withhold information from you.” 

“Then just tell me what you want me to do.” Shockwave said with a frustrated sigh. 

“Finish the combiner project for Ratbat and let me take control of the Senate dealings.” Megatron said flatly.

“That’s a very dangerous thing to do for me Megatron. My career and reputation are on the line, you could ruin me.” Shockwave warned. 

“Trust that I will not. Trust that this is bigger than your immediate career and image.” 

Shockwave swallowed thickly, "Alright. I'll trust you." 

Megatron took his servo off of the door. His face remained impassive as he examined Shockwave for a hint of a lie. Shockwave's frame shivered as he slowly inched the door open again. He could not take his optics away from Megatron's face. The anger was unsteady, as if drifting down to the bottom of his em field like a fine silt. Never going away but resting as other softer emotions laid over top of it. The edge of the door brushed against Megatron, the movement forcing the larger mech to stand back. Shockwave felt his ventaliations come easier. It felt like Megatron was waiting for Shockwave to say more. 

“I’ll finish the project.” Shockwave assured, “Trust me.” 

“There will be no forgiveness if you betray me.” Megatron said gravely. 

“Same to you.” Shockwave breathed. Shockwave tried to do more than just slink into his room, but his frame would not let him stand tall in this moment. He felt defeated and strung out. It was a complete subjugation of his mind and body. He could not breathe without it somehow benefitting Megatron. ‘What have I done?’ Shockwave quietly thought to himself, ‘What have I let roam free?’ 

He numbly made his way into his wash racks, turning on the taps to fill the basin with hot oil. He examines his paint in the mirror and finds no scuffs on his satin finish. He looked the same as he ever has, just more purple, more unsure. Shockwave chose to no longer ponder this quandary. He slipped into the oil, hissing as the heat seeped behind his plating. Shockwave let himself slip in deeper and for a moment pause his thinking and just let himself sink to the bottom of the basin and seek oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In terms of how I work, I got this done remarkably fast. I'm half debating deleting the main work this story is attached to (it was a joint effort and not entirely my creation) so I can just focus on vignettes set in the au revolving around different characters. What do you guys think? The ones I had planned in the future would be Mirage, Impactor, Jetfire (this one is a maybe and would focus on how Starscream and him met), and maybe Swindle (Swindle is a maybe because it would be post war and I don't really want to write the war :/ ) 
> 
> I have no idea if anyone would be interested in these ideas.


End file.
